To require the imposition of sanctions with respect to the financial sector of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran.

SA 1414. Mr. LEVIN (for Mr. Menendez (for himself and Mr. Kirk))
proposed an amendment to the bill S. 1867, to authorize appropriations
for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the
Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for
such fiscal year, and for other purposes; as follows:

At the end of subtitle C of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1243. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE
FINANCIAL SECTOR OF IRAN.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On November 21, 2011, the Secretary of the Treasury
issued a finding under section 5318A of title 31, United
States Code, that identified Iran as a jurisdiction of
primary money laundering concern.
(2) In that finding, the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network of the Department of the Treasury wrote, ``The
Central Bank of Iran, which regulates Iranian banks, has
assisted designated Iranian banks by transferring billions of
dollars to these banks in 2011. In mid-2011, the CBI
transferred several billion dollars to designated banks,
including Saderat, Mellat, EDBI and Melli, through a variety
of payment schemes. In making these transfers, the CBI
attempted to evade sanctions by minimizing the direct
involvement of large international banks with both CBI and
designated Iranian banks.''.
(3) On November 22, 2011, the Under Secretary of the
Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, David
Cohen, wrote, ``Treasury is calling out the entire Iranian
banking sector, including the Central Bank of Iran, as posing
terrorist financing, proliferation financing, and money
laundering risks for the global financial system.''.
(b) Designation of Financial Sector of Iran as of Primary
Money Laundering Concern.--The financial sector of Iran,
including the Central Bank of Iran, is designated as of
primary money laundering concern for purposes of section
5318A of title 31, United States Code, because of the threat
to government and financial institutions resulting from the
illicit activities of the Government of Iran, including its
pursuit of nuclear weapons, support for international
terrorism, and efforts to deceive responsible financial
institutions and evade sanctions.
(c) Freezing of Assets of Iranian Financial Institutions.--
The President shall, pursuant to the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), block and
prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in
property of an Iranian financial institution if such property
and interests in property are in the United States, come
within the United States, or are or come within the
possession or control of a United States person.
(d) Imposition of Sanctions With Respect to the Central
Bank of Iran and Other Iranian Financial Institutions.--
(1) In general.--Except as specifically provided in this
subsection, beginning on the date that is 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the President--
(A) shall prohibit the opening or maintaining in the United
States of a correspondent account or a payable-through
account by a foreign financial institution that the President
determines has knowingly conducted or facilitated any
significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of
Iran or another Iranian financial institution designated by
the Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition of sanctions
pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and
(B) may impose sanctions pursuant to the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with
respect to the Central Bank of Iran.
(2) Exception for sales of food, medicine, and medical
devices.--The President may not impose sanctions under
paragraph (1) with respect to any person for conducting or
facilitating a transaction for the sale of food, medicine, or
medical devices to Iran.
(3) Applicability of sanctions with respect to foreign
central banks.--Except as provided in paragraph (4),
sanctions imposed under paragraph (1)(A) shall apply with
respect to a foreign financial institution owned or
controlled by the government of a foreign country including a
central bank of a foreign country, only insofar as it engages
in transaction for the sale or purchase of petroleum or
petroleum products to or from Iran conducted or facilitated
on or after that date that is 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(4) Applicability of sanctions with respect to petroleum
transactions.--
(A) Report required.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, and every 60 days thereafter,
the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration,
in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall
submit to Congress a report on the availability and price of
petroleum and petroleum products produced

[[Page S7934]]

in countries other than Iran in the 60-day period preceding
the submission of the report.
(B) Determination required.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of the Act, and every 180 days
thereafter, the President shall make a determination, based
on the reports required by subparagraph (A), of whether the
price and supply of petroleum and petroleum products produced
in countries other than Iran is sufficient to permit
purchasers of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran to
reduce significantly in volume their purchases from Iran.
(C) Application of sanctions.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (D), sanctions imposed under paragraph (1)(A)
shall apply with respect to a financial transaction conducted
or facilitated by a foreign financial institution on or after
the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act for the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products
from Iran if the President determines pursuant to
subparagraph (B) that there is a sufficient supply of
petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than
Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of
petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or
through foreign financial institutions.
(D) Exception.--Sanctions imposed pursuant to paragraph (1)
shall not apply with respect to a foreign financial
institution if the President determines and reports to
Congress, not later than 90 days after the date on which the
President makes the determination required by subparagraph
(B), and every 180 days thereafter, that the foreign
financial institution has significantly reduced its volume of
crude oil purchases from Iran during the period beginning on
the date on which the President submitted the last report
with respect to the country under this subparagraph.
(5) Waiver.--The President may waive the imposition of
sanctions under paragraph (1) for a period of not more than
120 days, and may renew that waiver for additional periods of
not more than 120 days, if the President--
(A) determines that such a waiver is vital to the national
security of the United States; and
(B) submits to Congress a report--
(i) providing a justification for the waiver; and
(ii) that includes any concrete cooperation the President
has received or expects to receive as a result of the waiver.
(e) Multilateral Diplomacy Initiative.--
(1) In general.--The President shall--
(A) carry out an initiative of multilateral diplomacy to
persuade countries purchasing oil from Iran--
(i) to limit the use by Iran of revenue from purchases of
oil to purchases of non-luxury consumers goods from the
country purchasing the oil; and
(ii) to prohibit purchases by Iran of--

(I) military or dual-use technology, including items--

(aa) in the Annex to the to the Missile Technology Control
Regime Guidelines;
(bb) in the Annex on Chemicals to the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and
Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, done at
Paris January 13, 1993, and entered into force April 29, 1997
(commonly known as the ``Chemical Weapons Convention'');
(cc) in Part 1 or 2 of the Nuclear Suppliers Group
Guidelines; or
(dd) on a control list of the Wassenaar Arrangement on
Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and
Technologies; or

(II) any other item that could contribute to Iran's
conventional, nuclear, chemical or biological weapons
program; and

(B) conduct outreach to petroleum-producing countries to
encourage those countries to increase their output of crude
oil to ensure there is a sufficient supply of crude oil from
countries other than Iran and to minimize any impact on the
price of oil resulting from the imposition of sanctions under
this section.
(2) Report required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 days
thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a report
on the efforts of the President to carry out the initiative
described in paragraph (1)(A) and conduct the outreach
described in paragraph (1)(B) and the results of those
efforts.
(f) Form of Reports.--Each report submitted under this
section shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may
contain a classified annex.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Account; correspondent account; payable-through
account.--The terms ``account'', ``correspondent account'',
and ``payable-through account'' have the meanings given those
terms in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code.
(2) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign
financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to
section 104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C.
8513(i)).
(3) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a natural person who is a citizen or resident of the
United States or a national of the United States (as defined
in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1101(a)); and
(B) an entity that is organized under the laws of the
United States or jurisdiction within the United States.
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