On December 14, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury designated two senior intelligence officials in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), for their involvement in the abduction of Robert Levinson, a special agent who served with the FBI for 22 years, from Iran’s Kish Island on or around March 9, 2007. Both officials were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13553, for the abduction, detention and probable death of Mr. Levinson, on behalf of the MOIS. The MOIS was designated in 2012, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, for supporting terrorism, and pursuant to EO 13553, for committing serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran since 2009.
As a result these sanctions, all US property belonging to designated individuals is blocked, and all transactions with US persons are generally prohibited. In addition, people who engage in transactions with the designated entities may themselves be exposed to sanctions, and foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct a significant transactions for the designated persons could be subject to US correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.