On July 23rd, the US Office of Foreign Asset Control issued a revision of the rules regarding people in Iran who had US bank accounts. Peviously, people (or their spouses) who were simply visiting Iran had their US bank accounts closed pursuant to these regulations. Apparently, the new regulations are intended to make things more lenient by revising the definition of "Iranian Accounts" so that it only applies to people who are "ordinarily resident" in Iran rather than people who happen to be simply "located" there:
"OFAC is revising § 560.320 to clarify the definition by substituting the new phrase ‘persons who are ordinarily resident in Iran, except when such persons are not located in Iran’ for the phrase ‘persons located in Iran.’ "
The full text of the new rule is in the Federal Register, Volume 74, Number 140 (July 23, 2009)
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