Executive Order 12613 -- Prohibiting Imports from Iran

October 29, 1987

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 505 of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985 (22 U.S.C. 2349aa - 9), and section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code,

I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, find that the Government of Iran is actively supporting terrorism as an instrument of state policy. In addition, Iran has conducted aggressive and unlawful military action against U.S.-flag vessels and merchant vessels of other non-belligerent nations engaged in lawful and peaceful commerce in international waters of the Persian Gulf and territorial waters of non-belligerent nations of that region. To ensure that United States imports of Iranian goods and services will not contribute financial support to terrorism or to further aggressive actions against non-belligerent shipping, I hereby order that:

Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in regulations issued pursuant to this Order, no goods or services of Iranian origin may be imported into the United States, including its territories and possessions, after the effective date of this Order.

Sec. 2. The prohibition contained in Section 1 shall not apply to:

(a) Iranian-origin publications and materials imported for news publications or news broadcast dissemination;

(b) petroleum products refined from Iranian crude oil in a third country;

(c) articles imported directly from Iran into the United States that were exported from Iran prior to the effective date of this Order.

Sec. 3. This Order shall take effect at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on October 29, 1987, except as otherwise provided in regulations issued pursuant to this Order.

Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the Federal Government. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this Order, including the suspension or termination of licenses or other authorizations in effect as of the date of this Order.

Sec. 5. The measures taken pursuant to this Order are in response to the actions of the Government of Iran referred to above, occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those actions.

This Order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.

Ronald Reagan

The White House,

October 29, 1987.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:16 p.m., October 29, 1987]