In the Name of God
The cabinet, in its session held on 2025/11/12, pursuant to and in accordance with Article (17) of the Combating the Financing of Terrorism Act (2016), approved the "Executive By-law on Targeted Financial Measures against Terrorism and the Financing of Terrorism" as follows:
Executive By-law on Targeted Financial Measures against Terrorism and Terrorist Financing
Chapter I: Definitions
Article 1: The terms used in this By-law shall have the following meanings:
The Act: The Combating the Financing of Terrorism Act (2016), including its subsequent amendments and supplements.
Council: The Supreme Council for Combating and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, as referenced in Article (4) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (2008) and its subsequent amendments and supplements.
Center: The Financial Intelligence Center, as referenced in Article (7) bis of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (2008) and its subsequent amendments and supplements.
Terrorist Act: Any act listed under paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of Article (1) of the Act.
Terrorist Persons, Organizations, or Groups: Any person or group of persons who:
Commits, or attempts to commit, terrorist acts by any means, directly or indirectly, unlawfully and willfully;
Participates as an accomplice in, or abets, the commission of terrorist acts;
Leads others to commit terrorist acts;
Contributes to the commission of terrorist acts by a group of persons acting with a common purpose, where the contribution is made intentionally and to further the terrorist act or with the knowledge of the intention of the group to commit a terrorist act.
Freeze or Seize: To implement the targeted financial measures, means prohibit the possession, transfer, conversion, disposition, or movement of the following funds or other assets, for the duration of the validity of designating authority’s decision: all funds or other assets that are owned or controlled by designated persons, organizations, and groups, whether or not those are tied to a particular terrorist act, plot, or threat; funds or other assets that are wholly or jointly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by designated persons, organizations, and groups; funds or other assets derived or generated from funds or other assets owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by designated persons, organizations, and groups; as well as funds or other assets of persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of, designated persons, organizations, and groups.
Targeted Financial Measures (TFM): Preventative measures consisting of freezing or seizing and prohibition on access to funds or other assets of designated persons, organizations, and groups.
National Committee: The National Committee for targeted financial measures against Terrorism and Terrorist Financing, composed of a judge with at least twenty years of judicial experience appointed by the Head of the Judiciary, and senior-level representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Center, and the law enforcement authorities as referenced in the Anti-Money Laundering Act(2008) as amended and supplemented, possessing the required experience, expertise, and qualifications, which shall be established under the direction of the Supreme National Security Council and shall convene at the Center.
Designated Persons, Organizations, and Groups: Any persons, organizations, entities, groups, and undertakings listed below that are subject to targeted financial measures, and whose designation has been made publicly known through listing for the purpose of implementing the required measures:
Persons, organizations, and groups designated by the National Committee;
Individuals, groups, undertakings and entities designated by the United Nations Security Council Committees 1267 and 1988, if the mentioned committees act under the authority of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
Listing: The process of identifying, designating, and including in the list of designated persons, organizations, or groups.
Funds or other assets: Economic resources and property of every kind and in any form, whether corporeal or incorporeal, tangible or intangible, virtual or non-virtual, movable or immovable, liquid or non-liquid, credit-based or non-credit-based, legitimate or illegitimate, and all documents evidencing title to such property, whether in paper or electronic form.
Prohibition on Access: prohibiting natural and legal persons, as well as legal arrangements (such as waqfs, trusts, and civil partnerships which are legal persons), from making any funds or other assets available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of designated persons, organizations, and groups; or from providing them, directly or indirectly, with any financial or other related services.
Financial Institution: A financial institution as referenced in paragraph (5) of Article (1) of the Executive By-law of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (amended 2025), with subsequent amendments and supplements.
Without Delay: not exceeding (24) hours.
Chapter Two: Structure and Powers of the National Committee
Article 2: Under the guidance of the Supreme National Security Council, the National Committee shall, in the implementation of Articles (1) and (5) of the Act, undertake the following duties:
In line with Article (1) of the Act, which provides that the Supreme National Security Council should discern whether an act constitutes a terrorist act, the Committee shall upon the request of the relevant judicial authority, review and provide its opinion on whether the act in question has affected the policies, decisions, or actions of the State of the Islamic Republic of Iran, other states, or international organizations.
In line with Note (4) of Article (1) of the Act, which provides that the Supreme National Security Council should designate terrorist persons, groups, and organizations, the Committee shall consider the request for listing within a maximum period of one month from the date of receipt, in accordance with the following criteria:
A terrorist person, organization, or group;
An entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any terrorist person, organization, or group;
A person or entity acting on behalf of, or at the direction of, terrorist persons, organizations, or groups.
Consider the request for listing, in accordance with the criteria outlined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, to submit proposed designations to the United Nations Security Council Committees 1267 and 1988 for inclusion in the relevant lists.
Develop an operational mechanism for imposing travel restrictions or bans on individuals listed as designated persons, organizations, and groups, and enforce it upon approval by the Supreme National Security Council.
Note 1: The process for listing designated persons, organizations, or groups subject to sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (9) of Article (1) of this By-law is excluded from the scope of this Article.
Note 2: The procedure and decision-making process of the National Committee shall be governed by a directive approved by its members at the first session.
Note 3: Discerning whether the alleged or committed acts are terrorist acts and establishing the intent of the perpetrator rests with the judicial authority. The decisions of the National Committee shall not prejudice the independence of the judicial authority in this regard.
Article 3: The decisions of the National Committee shall be based on legal principles and on reasonable grounds, or reasonable basis, to suspect.
Chapter Three: Conditions and Procedures for the Consideration of the Listing Requests
Article 4: Requests for listing submitted for consideration by the National Committee shall meet the following conditions:
Follow the procedures announced by the National Committee;
Contain sufficient information to identify individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities, in accordance with the listing form issued by the National Committee;
Contain reasonable evidence or documentation, giving rise to reasonable grounds to suspect, as well as details regarding the proposed person’s relations with designated or terrorist persons, organizations, or groups.
Article 5: If the requester declares any parts of the request as confidential, the National Committee shall observe confidentiality considerations.
Article 6: Judicial authorities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, law enforcement authorities, and the Center shall submit listing requests, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article (2) of this By-law, to the National Committee. Requests from foreign entities shall be submitted through the corresponding domestic authority. The consideration of all requests in the National Committee shall be as soon as possible.
Note: Judicial authorities shall submit requests for listing under this Article to the National Committee through the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Article 7: Requests received from other countries, in addition to meeting the requirements outlined in Article (4), shall be considered by the National Committee only if they contain precise details about the proposed name, sufficient identifying information to allow for the accurate and positive identification of individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities, such as the individual’s identification number in the country of origin, passport number and a copy thereof, photographs of natural persons, contact details, postal code, email address, and other means of communication or virtual identity tools.
Article 8: Requests from foreign counterparts shall be considered by the National Committee in accordance with the provisions of the By-law on the Exchange of Information and International Cooperation.
Article 9: The Center shall submit proposed designations pursuant to paragraph (3) of Article (2) of this By-law to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for inclusion in the 1267 and 1988 Committees' sanction lists, so that the Ministry takes necessary actions based on the recognized international commitments to submit the proposal to the aforementioned committees for inclusion in the relevant list.
Article 10: The Center shall, with urgency, and through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, submit details of designated persons, organizations, or groups to the counterpart competent authority in other countries where their presence or activities are probable, for inclusion in that country’s sanctions list, and shall follow up on them accordingly.
Article 11: The Center, judicial authorities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, law enforcement authorities, as referenced in the Anti-Money Laundering Act (2008) as amended and supplemented, and their foreign counterparts may, by submitting additional explanations or new evidence, request reconsideration of rejected cases by the National Committee.
Article 12: The National Committee shall refer cases to competent judicial authorities for prosecution only where sufficient evidence to prove the crime exists. The judicial authority shall, in order to freeze or seize the following funds or other assets in the context of judicial proceedings, prohibit the possession, transfer, conversion, disposition, or movement of funds or other assets of the accused person charged with offenses under the Act, until confiscation or the lifting of the freeze or seizure:
Funds or other assets used for, or allocated to, terrorist financing, and any proceeds derived therefrom;
Funds or other assets related to offenses covered by the Act, and their proceeds, whether wholly or partially converted into, or otherwise transformed into, other assets;
Funds or other assets and proceeds related to offenses covered by the Act that have been intermingled with legitimate assets, to the extent that such assets may be seized in proportion to their estimated value.
Note: Where the judicial authority lifts the freeze or seizure of funds or other assets referred to in this Article, the matter shall be referred to the National Committee for reconsideration regarding removal from the list.
Article 13: The National Committee’s decisions regarding listing requests under paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article (2) of this By-law shall be implemented subject to the approval and order of the Judge Member of the said Committee.
Chapter Four: Public Communication of the Designated Persons, Organizations, and Groups
Article 14: The Center shall, without delay, publicly communicate the list of designated persons, organizations, and groups and any subsequent changes thereto, upon receipt, through an appropriate mechanism such as the Center’s official website.
Article 15: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall, without delay, send the lists subject to subparagraph (b) of paragraph (9) of Article (1) of this By-law, and any subsequent changes to the Center.
Chapter Five: Implementation of Targeted Financial Measures
Article 16: All natural and legal persons, as well as legal arrangements, are obligated to implement targeted financial measures effectively, without delay and without prior notice, upon the publication of the list of the designated persons, organizations, or groups, and shall report to the Center any assets frozen and actions taken, in accordance with prescribed procedures.
Note: Financial institutions, professions, and businesses designated by the Center shall, within three months of the approval of this By-law, establish internal procedures and system-based infrastructure that enable the identification and implementation of targeted financial measures. In addition, with regards to the extent of their business scope, these persons shall adopt measures such as allocating shift-based operational units or implementing urgent and necessary mechanisms (on duty) to implement targeted financial measures without delay.
Article 17: Financial institutions are required to implement the following minimum measures to freeze or seize the funds or other assets of designated persons, organizations, and groups after the publication of the list of designated persons, organizations, and groups:
Prevent withdrawals from all types of local (rial) and foreign currency deposit accounts;
Prevent any transfer of funds, whether wire transfer or non-electronic ones;
Freeze local (rial) and foreign currency certificates of deposit;
Prevent access to safe deposit boxes, even after the termination or cancellation of the contract;
Deactivate all payment instruments, including debit and prepaid cards (e.g., voucher cards), mobile banking, internet banking, and similar tools;
Deactivate anonymous cards (e.g., gift cards) issued from accounts belonging to, or benefitting, designated persons, organizations, and groups;
Prevent the use of funds or credit in electronic wallets;
Refrain from transferring or disbursing funds under letters of credit;
Prevent the claiming, reduction, or cancellation of bank guarantees;
Refrain from issuing any foreign currency declaration or commitment-release declarations benefiting persons in import letters of credit and freeze funds from export letters of credit;
Deny access to funds from foreign currency remittances where the beneficiaries are designated persons, organizations, and groups;
Refrain from releasing collateral subject to banking facilities and commitments;
Deactivate trading codes in the capital market;
Prohibit withdrawals of funds held with investment funds, brokerage firms, and portfolio managers;
Prevent designated persons, organizations, or groups from deriving any benefit from life insurance policies and investment contracts.
Note: The measures stipulated in this article shall not negate the responsibility of financial institutions to freeze or seize other types of funds or other assets held with those institutions.
Article 18: Where the mechanisms for freezing or seizing other types of funds or other assets, or the procedures for managing such frozen or seized assets, are not specified in laws or regulations, the National Committee shall be responsible for determining and issuing the relevant procedures. In any event, natural and legal persons, and legal arrangements are obligated to adopt appropriate measures to freeze or seize funds or other assets that they hold, and to ensure the proper management and preservation of such frozen or seized assets. This matter shall not be dependent on the implementation of this article by the National Committee under this Article.
Article 19: Prohibition on access also extends to situations where designated persons, organizations, or groups act on behalf of others.
Chapter Six: Protective Measures
Article 20: The Center shall establish, promulgate, and transparently communicate procedures to ensure the immediate removal of the effects of targeted financial measures for persons, organizations, or groups with the same or similar names as designated persons, organizations, or groups, which have been inadvertently affected by such measures.
Note: To prevent the recurrence of similar instances, the Center shall take the necessary measures to prevent the implementation of targeted financial measures against persons, organizations, and groups with the same or similar names as designated persons, organizations, and groups.
Article 21: To protect the rights of bona fide third parties acting in good faith, in legal interactions, where a person other than the designated persons, organizations, or groups claims a legitimate right over funds or other assets subject to targeted financial measures, the effects of such sanctions shall be lifted only upon verification of the claimant’s legal right and good faith through a decision issued by the Judge member of the National Committee.
Article 22: To protect the rights of bona fide third parties acting in good faith and to prevent the suspension or closure of all or part of service or production activities—such as commercial, agricultural, operations of workshops, factories, companies, and similar operations—conducted by designated persons, organizations, or groups, necessary measures shall be taken in accordance with applicable laws, including the Industrial Support and Prevention of Factory Closures Act (1964) and the Removing Barriers to Competitive Production and Enhancing the Financial System Act (2015), including all subsequent amendments and additions.
Article 23: The coverage of basic and extraordinary expenses of persons, until delisting from the list of designated persons, organizations, and groups, shall be subject to the Council’s provisions on the categories of basic and extraordinary expenses, as well as the limits and modalities of their access to assets.
Chapter Seven: Delisting Procedures
Article 24: In cases where targeted financial measures have been imposed pursuant to a decision by the National Committee, designated persons, organizations, and groups may submit a request for delisting and lifting of the effects of the targeted financial measures, supported by appropriate documentation. The National Committee shall consider the request and, if approved, shall proceed with the delisting. The order to lift the effects of the targeted financial measures shall be issued by the Judge member of the National Committee.
Note 1: Requests for delisting of designated persons, organizations, or groups are received by the National Committee, and the outcome shall be communicated to the applicant after review and consideration.
Note 2: The National Committee shall develop an appropriate mechanism for receiving delisting requests under this Article and for communicating the outcome to the applicant, and shall make the mechanism publicly known.
Article 25: The National Committee shall establish and publicly communicate a mechanism for receiving delisting requests concerning individuals, organizations, and groups designated by United Nations Security Council Committees 1267 and 1988. Under this mechanism, the National Committee shall receive such requests and, in accordance with the relevant international procedures, take the necessary steps—through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—to submit the request to the respective Committees. If the delisting request is accepted by the 1267 or 1988 Committee, the effects of the targeted financial measures shall be lifted. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for informing the public about available United Nations Focal Point mechanisms, including sending requests to the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) in cases related to the sanctions list of the 1267 Committee.
Chapter Eight: Miscellaneous
Article 26: The Center shall, within six months from the date of approval of this By-law, develop the necessary guidance for the key sectors to ensure transparency in the implementation of targeted financial measures and to clarify the obligations of obligated persons, with priority given to financial institutions.
Article 27: The Judiciary’s Statistics and Information Technology Center shall, by adopting the necessary system-based measures, send to the Center all judicial rulings and decisions related to money laundering, its predicate offenses, financing of terrorism, terrorist acts, designated or terrorist persons, organizations, and groups, and offenses related to violations of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and regulations, particularly violations of targeted financial measures—whether such rulings result in convictions, acquittals, or orders of non-prosecution or case dismissal—in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
Article 28: This By-law shall be binding on all persons, and any violation of the obligations set forth herein shall be subject to penalties in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations, including Note (1) of Article (14) of the Act.
Article 29: The supervisory authorities referred to in Paragraph (9) of Article (1) of the Executive By-law of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (amended 2025) shall, to fulfill their supervisory duties pursuant to Article (41) of the said Executive By-law, supervise the persons falling within their supervisory jurisdiction with respect to compliance with the provisions of this By-law and the regulations and operational procedures adopted thereunder. In the event of any failure to comply, such authorities shall impose appropriate administrative or disciplinary sanctions, and where the violation constitutes a criminal offense, they shall refer the matter to the competent judicial authority for the application of the penalties provided under Note (1) of Article (14) of the Act.
Article 30: Upon entry into force of this By-law, the Executive By-law of the Combating the Financing of Terrorism (2017) shall be repealed, and all regulations based thereon shall be annulled.