22 U.S.C. § 8726 — Reports on, and authorization of imposition of sanctions with respect to, the provision of specialized financial messaging services to the Central Bank of Iran and other sanctioned Iranian financial institutions

(a) Sense of Congress. Congress states its opinion that: (1) companies that provide specialized financial messaging services are a critical link to the world's financial system; (2) the European Union deserves credit for strengthening sanctions against Iran by barring people under its jurisdiction from providing these messaging services to Iran's Central Bank and other sanctioned Iranian banks; and (3) sanctioned Iranian banks must keep losing access to these messaging services.

(b) Reports required.
(1) In general. Within 60 days of August 10, 2012, and every 90 days after that, the Secretary of the Treasury must send Congress's relevant committees a report that contains: (A) a list of everyone the Secretary has found who directly provides, or helps others get direct or indirect access to, specialized financial messaging services for Iran's Central Bank or for a financial institution described in section 104(c)(2)(E)(ii) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(c)(2)(E)(ii)); and (B) a detailed update on the Secretary's efforts to end that direct provision and that enabling of access.
(2) Enabling or facilitation through intermediary institutions. For purposes of paragraph (1) and subsection (c), "enabling or facilitating" access to these messaging services includes acting as a go-between financial institution that itself has access to the messaging services and passes that access along.
(3) Form of report. The report must be unclassified, though it may include a classified annex.

(c) Authorization of imposition of sanctions.
(1) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (2), starting 90 days after August 10, 2012, if a person keeps knowingly and directly providing these messaging services, or knowingly enabling access to them, for Iran's Central Bank or the institutions described above, the President may impose sanctions on that person under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 or under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
(2) Exception. The President may not sanction a person under paragraph (1) if: (A) the person's own country's law already requires it, under a foreign sanctions program, to stop knowingly providing or enabling access to these messaging services for the Central Bank of Iran and for a group of Iranian financial institutions the foreign law names — but only if the President finds (I) that foreign-named group is substantially similar to the institutions described in this section, and (II) the differences between the two groups do not hurt the U.S. national interest; and (B) the person has actually stopped, under that foreign sanctions program, knowingly providing or enabling that access for the Central Bank of Iran and each of those named institutions.

(d) Rule of construction. Nothing in this section limits the President's authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010.