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Executive Order 12613 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23)

Executive Order 12613—Prohibiting Imports from Iran

Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan
•
Thursday, October 29, 1987
•
2 min read (452 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Ronald Reagan on 1987-10-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Prohibiting Imports from Iran." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ To ensure that United States imports of Iranian goods and services will not contribute financial support to terrorism or to further aggressive actions against non-belligerent shipping, I hereby order that: Section 1.
▪ The prohibition contained in Section I shall not apply to: (a) Iranian-origin publications and materials imported for news publications or news broadcast dissemination; (b) petroleum products refined from Iranian crude oil in a third country; (c) articles imported directly from Iran into the United States that were exported from Iran prior to the effective date of this Order.
▪ 3, This Order shall take effect at 12:01 p.m.
▪ The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Order.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Total Words
452
2,840 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.1
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.23
Framers' Alignment index
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 12613, Ronald Reagan (Oct 29, 1987). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12613-prohibiting-imports-from-iran.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, including section 505 of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985 (22 U.S.C. 2349aa-9), and section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, find that the Government of Iran is actively supporting terrorism as an instrument of state policy. In addition, Iran has conducted aggressive and unlawful military action against U.S.-flag vessels and merchant vessels of other nonbelligerent nations engaged in lawful and peaceful commerce in international waters of the Persian Gulf and territorial waters of non-belligerent nations of that region. To ensure that United States imports of Iranian goods and services will not contribute financial support to terrorism or to further aggressive actions against non-belligerent shipping, I hereby order that: Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in regulations issued pursuant to this Order, no goods or services of Iranian origin may be imported into the United States, including its territories and possessions, after the effective date of this Order. Sec. 2. The prohibition contained in Section I shall not apply to: (a) Iranian-origin publications and materials imported for news publications or news broadcast dissemination; (b) petroleum products refined from Iranian crude oil in a third country; (c) articles imported directly from Iran into the United States that were exported from Iran prior to the effective date of this Order. Sec. 3, This Order shall take effect at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on October 29, 1987, except as otherwise provided in regulations issued pursuant to this Order. Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the Federal Government. All agencies of the United States Government are directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this Order, including the suspension or termination of licenses or other authorizations in effect as of the date of this Order. Sec. 5. The measures taken pursuant to this Order are in response to the actions of the Government of Iran referred to above, occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those actions. This Order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register. RONALD REAGAN The White House, October 29, 1987. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:16 p.m., October 29, 1987]