OFAC has issued General License J, "Authorising the Reexportation of Certain Civil Aircraft to Iran on Temporary Sojourn and Related Transactions." Specifically, General License J provides for the re-exportation by a non-US person (including airlines organised outside the US) of "Eligible Aircraft" to Iran on temporary sojourn, provided that criteria set forth in General License J are satisfied.

For the purposes of General License J, the term "Eligible Aircraft" is defined as:

  • US-origin fixed-wing civil aircraft
  • Non-US-origin fixed-wing civil aircraft of which US-controlled content constitutes 10 percent or more of the total value and that is (i) classified under Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) 9A99l.b on the Commerce Control List (CCL) and registered outside the US and certain embargoed countries (Iran, North Korea, Syria and Sudan).

In order for General License J to apply for a temporary sojourn to Iran by a non-US person utilising an Eligible Aircraft, all of the following criteria must be satisfied:

  1. The right to hire and fire the cockpit crew must remain with the non-US person re-exporter
  2. The right to dispatch the Eligible Aircraft must remain with the non-US person re-exporter
  3. The right to determine the Eligible Aircraft's routes must remain with the non-US person re-exporter
  4. The right to perform or obtain the principal maintenance on the Eligible Aircraft must remain with the non-US person reexporter, and principal maintenance must take place outside of Iran under the control of a party who is not an Iranian national ordinarily resident in Iran
  5. The place of registration of the Eligible Aircraft must not change to Iran
  6. There must not be a transfer of technology to an Iranian national ordinarily resident in Iran
  7. The Eligible Aircraft must not bear the color, livery, or logo of any Iranian air carrier
  8. The Eligible Aircraft must not carry a flight number issued to an Iranian air carrier
  9. The Eligible Aircraft must not be equipped with, or used to transport:
  1. arms or related material, including defense articles, defense services, or technical data that are controlled on the United States Munitions List (USML) established under section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. § 2778),
  2. any item that is, or would be, if located in the United States controlled by ECCNs OA-E521 or 600 series ECCNs, or
  3. items used to facilitate the development or production of a chemical or biological weapon or other weapon of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including ballistic missiles; and
  1. The Eligible Aircraft must be in Iran for no more than 72 hours on each temporary sojourn.

For the sake of emphasis, General License J specifically provides that it does not authorise, among other things, any transaction related to the sale, lease, or transfer of operational control of Eligible Aircraft to any individual or , any transaction by a US person, or the re-exportation of a US-registered aircraft on temporary sojourn to Iran.

OFAC Issues General License Allowing For Temporary Sojourn To Iran For Certain Civil Aircraft

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