Common Questions

What is OFAC General Licence W?: General Licence W is an OFAC authorisation issued on 1 May 2026 that provides a wind-down period for transactions involving Iranian persons newly added to the SDN list on that date. It was issued under E.O. 13902 and E.O. 13224 as part of a broader enforcement package that also designated three Iranian foreign exchange houses and the tanker NEW FUSION.Source: OFAC
Who is blocked under OFAC General Licence W?: The 1 May 2026 SDN designations covered three Iranian foreign exchange houses and the Panama-flagged tanker NEW FUSION. GL-W authorises a wind-down period for transactions with these newly blocked persons; the same-day sanctions alert (separate from the GL itself) named the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, and Iranian embassy accounts as prohibited Hormuz toll payment channels.Source: OFAC
What does a general licence from OFAC actually authorise?: An OFAC general licence is a standing authorisation permitting categories of transactions otherwise prohibited under a sanctions programme. Wind-down general licences give counterparties a time-limited window to unwind contracts and exit relationships with newly designated entities without incurring sanctions violations. They create no new sanctions policy and can be revoked at any time.
When does General Licence W expire?: The specific wind-down deadline for GL-W was not published in the initial OFAC alert. OFAC wind-down general licences typically run 30-90 days from the designation date; the predecessor GL-V ran to 24 May 2026.Source: OFAC

Background

A general licence (GL) is a standing OFAC authorisation that permits categories of transactions otherwise prohibited under a sanctions programme, without requiring a specific case-by-case licence. Wind-down general licences are the standard tool for managing the transition when new entities are added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list: they give counterparties a time-limited window to unwind contracts, close positions, and exit relationships without violating sanctions. General licences are issued under the authority of underlying executive orders; they create no new policy and can be revoked at any time.

General Licence W was issued by OFAC on 1 May 2026 as part of the sixth Iran-related enforcement package of the 2026 war, pursuant to Executive Order 13902 (Iran additional sectors, January 2020) and Executive Order 13224 (counterterrorism, September 2001). The same package designated three Iranian foreign exchange houses and the Panama-flagged tanker NEW FUSION to the SDN list, and published a sanctions alert naming the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, and Iranian embassy accounts as prohibited Hormuz toll payment channels.

GL-W creates a wind-down period for transactions involving the persons newly blocked on 1 May. It is the successor instrument in a sequence: GL-U (authorised Iranian crude in transit) expired on 19 April with no renewal; GL-V provided a wind-down to 24 May for a prior tranche of blocked persons; GL-W addresses the 1 May additions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the package as part of a campaign to "relentlessly target the regime's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds". Compliance officers at correspondent banks treat each new GL as both an authorisation and a signal of what OFAC considers the next enforcement frontier.

How the World Sees Them

OFAC

GL-W is one instrument in a sustained campaign to eliminate Iran's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds; the accompanying sanctions alert extends that pressure to Hormuz toll payment infrastructure.

Correspondent banks

Compliance officers treat each new GL as a signal of OFAC's next enforcement frontier; the IRCS alert requires banks to add humanitarian-payment screening as an additional compliance layer.

Iran's Central Bank

Treats the GL-W package as part of the financial blockade; each new designation and GL narrows the channels through which Iran can access hard currency from oil revenues.