I don’t normally talk about cases that I have been involved in on this blog, but I’m going to make a rare exception today to talk about OFAC, tennis and the new General License F announced today. The new general license permits the importation of Iranian origin services into the United States in connection with “professional and amateur sporting activities . . . including, but not limited to, activities related to exhibition matches and events, the sponsorship of players, coaching, refereeing, and training.”

The story begins with an email I received several weeks ago from Adel Borghei, a respected tennis referee from Iran who had been invited to referee at this year’s U.S. Open in New York, but the invitation had been withdrawn after he arrived in the United States due to U.S. sanctions on Iran. Section 560.505 of the Iran Transaction Regulations limits U.S. employment of persons ordinarily resident in Iran to those holding certain visas and, in the case of Mr. Borghei, appeared to preclude his being a referee at the Open.

I easily convinced Bryan Cave to take on Mr. Borghei as a pro bono client, and we filed a license application with OFAC requesting permission for him to referee in this year’s Open. And, believe it or not, we got a license in record time on the Friday before the Labor Day Weekend. Mr. Borghei, as a result, was able to referee at the Open after all. This article in the New York Times tells the story in more detail, with a great picture of Mr. Borghei arriving at the Open to get started.

Clearly the U.S. sanctions on Iran were never meant to prohibit the participation of Iranians in athletic events. Cultural and athletic interchanges involving ordinary citizens of both countries may do as much or more to further U.S. diplomatic goals as prohibitions placed on those involved in proliferation activities. And I’d like to think that the license application filed for Mr. Borghei caused OFAC to realize the good that could be accomplished by issuing General License F.

Last week I went up to the Open to watch Mr. Borghei act as a line ref for a tennis match. Regular readers have probably surmised that I enjoy what I do, but I have to admit that this one little success made all the poring over OFAC, BIS and DDTC regulations worth it. Mr. Borghei is a good guy who has always wanted to work the Open, and there he was on the line doing what he enjoyed most.

Permalink


Copyright © 2013 Clif Burns. All Rights Reserved.
(No republication, syndication or use permitted without my consent.)