Think the United States has weak sanctions on Iran? Think again.

U.S. persons remain prohibited from doing business in or with Iran despite implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA negotiations involved China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, the European Union, and Iran. They were completed in 2015. Under the JCPOA, the United States withdrew some of its nuclear-related secondary sanctions in exchange for Iran's compliance. However, the primary prohibitions and restrictions of the Iran sanctions program that affect U.S. persons and entities remain in place today.

The Iran sanctions program dates from right after the Iranian Revolution and the U.S. hostage crisis. President Clinton expanded the sanctions in 1995 when he issued a comprehensive ban on U.S. trade and investment in Iran under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Since that time numerous executive orders, laws, and regulations have come into effect that have strengthened economic and trade sanctions on Iran.