In response to Iran’s unprecedented air attack on Israel, and its continued military cooperation with Russia, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is imposing additional controls to further restrict Iran’s access to low-level technologies, such as basic commercial grade microelectronics. Today’s action will cut off a wider range of items from reaching Iran’s arsenal – including items manufactured outside the U.S. that are produced using U.S. technology. These changes build on BIS’s comprehensive export restrictions on Iran, which already include controls targeting Iran’s involvement in supplying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in support of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.

BIS’s longstanding and expansive controls on dual-use items to Iran and more recent actions against Russia have forced these nations to use lower-level technologies for their military ambitions. Over the past two years, BIS has added controls on thousands of items to inhibit Russia and Iran’s access to necessary components for their war efforts.

The expanded controls announced today draw from the existing categories of items developed by BIS and its international partners in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine. BIS partnered with the European Union, Japan, and the United Kingdom to identify a list, called the Common High Priority List (CHPL), that includes categories of items that Russia seeks to procure for its weapons programs. The development of the CHPL is a part of a unified international effort to curb aggressive military actions and promote global peace and security.

Today’s rule broadens the most stringent controls under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to enhance the impact of export control measures in response to the ongoing aggression against Ukraine and to further limit access to U.S. and allied components that both Russia and Iran rely on for their weapons programs.