On May 30, 2013, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License D for Iran, which allows for the exportation and reexportation of certain services, software and hardware to be used in the exchange of personal communication, as long as the transactions are not otherwise prohibited under the Iranian Transaction and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) located in 31 C.F.R. Part 560.

According to OFAC, General License D authorizes the exportation or reexportation from the U.S. of the following:

• Certain fee-based services and software incident to the exchange of personal communications over the Internet
• Certain software and hardware subject to EAR and to be used for personal communications, if it is listed as part of the Annex to the General License D
• Consumer-grade internet connectivity services and telecommunication transmission facilities incident to personal communications

In the General License, OFAC specifically prohibits the exportation or reexportation of any of the products or services mentioned above to the Government of Iran or any person whose property and interests are blocked pursuant any part to 31 C.F.R., Chapter V. OFAC also prohibits the exportation or reexportation of commercial-grade internet services or transmission facilities, and any web-hosting services for purposes other than personal communications.

General License D became effective on May 30, 2013.

The full text of General License D is available online here.