The European Union has lifted most of its economic and financial restrictive measures (sanctions) against Iran since
the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) in 2016. Therefore, currently, almost all trade
activities are permitted between the European Union and Iran, with a few exceptions. The sanctions that are still in
place refer to non-proliferation (restrictions on the export of weapons, missile technology, nuclear transfers and
activities, graphite, certain raw metals, and specific types of software) and to serious human rights violations
(restrictions on dealing with certain individuals, in addition to export bans on equipment which may be used for
internal repression or monitoring and intercepting communications).
The Due Diligence Helpdesk on EU Sanctions for EU SMEs dealing with Iran is an important support tool provided by
the Commission to encourage SMEs that are willing to engage with Iran, to do so in full compliance with EU legislation
and within the framework of the JCPoA, by providing them with free-of-charge due diligence checks on specific
business projects in Iran. The resulting due diligence reports enable EU SMEs to significantly lower their transaction
costs by eliminating risks and, at the same time, they act as reassurance for financial institutions by providing strong
reasons to facilitate transactions.
