October 18-2013
In a crude effort to embarrass rightwing members of Congress, the White House last week said the government shutdown was impeding sanctions with Iran. It pointed out that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency that oversees sanctions, has had to furlough all but 11 of its 175 employees, implying that Iran can now import illicit items at will. But the enforcement of sanctions is handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is not shut down. OFAC writes new sanctions, issues interpretations of the rules, gives exemptions from sanctions, but has nothing to do with policing exports from the US.