Two People Added to Iran Sanctions

Summary#

These final rules update the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations to add two named people to Canada’s Iran sanctions list. The changes took effect on the day the regulations were registered: March 7, 2024, and were published in the Canada Gazette on March 27, 2024.

What it does#

• Adds two people to Part 2.1 of Schedule 1 of the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations:
  • Masoud Dorosti (also known as Masood Darshti and Masood Dorosti)
  • Zohreh Elahian (born 1968)
• Makes those listed subject to a broad dealings ban. That means:
  • Any assets they have in Canada are effectively frozen.
  • People and businesses in Canada, and Canadians abroad, are prohibited from doing business with them, providing services, or otherwise making funds or goods available to them.
• Changes make the listed people inadmissible to Canada under immigration rules.
• The names will be added to the Consolidated Canadian Autonomous Sanctions List to help banks and others identify them.
• Enforcement bodies named in the regulatory statement include the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Criminal penalties for knowingly breaking the sanctions include, on summary conviction, a fine of up to $25,000 or up to one year in jail (or both), and on indictment, up to five years’ imprisonment.

Who's affected#

• The two named individuals, Masoud Dorosti and Zohreh Elahian, and their assets or business links that touch Canada.
• Canadian banks and financial institutions, which must update monitoring systems and block any prohibited transactions.
• Any Canadian person or company that might otherwise deal with these individuals.
• The public indirectly: listed people will be unable to use Canadian financial services or travel to Canada.
• It is unclear from the notice whether these specific listings will have wider effects on other people in Iran or on particular Canadian businesses; the government says it expects limited economic impact because of few ties with Iran.

Why it matters#

• These are targeted, person-specific sanctions aimed at holding people accountable for what the government describes as gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran—especially measures that affect women and girls.
• For ordinary Canadians, the main practical effect is that banks and businesses must not deal with the listed people, and those people cannot enter Canada.
• For the broader public, the listings signal Canada’s ongoing use of sanctions to try to pressure Iran on human rights.