Executive Order 12170 (1979)

Executive Order 12170 (1979) is the United States executive order issued by President Jimmy Carter on 14 November 1979 that blocked Iranian government property and interests in property, including those of its instrumentalities, controlled entities and central bank. Its reach covered property subject to US jurisdiction or within the possession or control of persons subject to US jurisdiction. The order followed the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran on 4 November and invoked emergency economic powers in response to the crisis. [EO 12170; Dames & Moore v Regan, pp. 662-663.]

Provisions and procedure

The order declared a national emergency and authorised the Treasury Secretary to exercise powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (1977) to carry it out. Congress had enacted IEEPA in December 1977 alongside amendments limiting new uses of the Trading with the Enemy Act to wartime, while preserving specified existing emergency authorities. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (United States) implemented the Iran blocking measures through regulations in 31 CFR Part 535. These historical regulations made attachments subject to revocable authorisations; blocking did not itself transfer ownership of the assets to the United States. [EO 12170; Public Law 95-223, sections 101 and 201-203; Dames & Moore, pp. 663 and 672-674.]

The measures reached Iranian deposits at foreign branches of US banks. A memorandum by Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Carswell, dated 22 November 1979, estimated the market value of blocked assets at substantially more than USD 8 billion, with more than half held as dollar deposits at those branches. This is a contemporary estimate, not a final valuation of the settlement. The memorandum also recognised uncertainty about foreign law and the ability to vest assets outside the United States; legal control across jurisdictions was not equivalent to undisputed ownership. [Carswell, memorandum of 22 November 1979.]

Employment history

Algeria mediated the settlement recorded in the declarations of 19 January 1981, commonly called the Algiers Accords. The General Declaration specified escrow arrangements and transfers for different asset categories, linking release of the escrow to certification that the US nationals had left Iran. The Claims Settlement Declaration established the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, with its seat at The Hague, for defined categories of claims and disputes. Its jurisdiction included exceptions; it did not send every claim arising from the crisis to arbitration. These instruments set out settlement obligations, rather than proving that every obligation was immediately completed. [General Declaration, preamble and paragraphs 2-9; Claims Settlement Declaration, articles II and VI.]

In Dames & Moore v Regan (1981), the Supreme Court upheld the challenged nullification of attachments and transfer of assets under IEEPA. Its separate conclusion on suspension of claims rested on statutory inferences and a history of congressional acquiescence in executive claims settlements, rather than an express IEEPA power to suspend claims. The Court stressed the narrowness of its decision and did not recognise plenary presidential power to settle claims. The episode is treated at United States freeze of Iranian government assets during the hostage crisis (1979-1981). [Dames & Moore, pp. 669-688.]

Effects and continuing status

The episode illustrates how blocking can preserve assets for use in negotiations: the Supreme Court expressly described the frozen pool as a bargaining resource. That legal rationale and the subsequent settlement do not establish how much the freeze independently contributed to resolving the hostage crisis. Carswell's memorandum discussed possible Iranian retaliation and pressure on the dollar, but those prospective risks do not demonstrate an observed shift by reserve holders away from dollar assets. The distinction matters when comparing this episode with De-dollarisation as backlash dynamic. [Dames & Moore, pp. 673-674; Carswell, memorandum of 22 November 1979.]

As at 7 November 2026, a notice signed on 3 November and published on 5 November continues the 1979 national emergency for one year beyond 14 November 2026. It states that implementation of the agreements of 19 January 1981 remains ongoing. The notice expressly distinguishes this emergency from the separate Iran emergency declared by Executive Order 12957 on 15 March 1995, and distinguishes this continuation from the March 2026 renewal of that separate emergency. Continuation of the 1979 emergency should therefore not be read as renewal of every later Iran sanctions measure. [Trump, notice of 3 November 2026, p. 69947.]

See also

United States freeze of Iranian government assets during the hostage crisis (1979-1981) · International Emergency Economic Powers Act (1977) · Asset freeze · Central-bank reserve immobilisation · Central Bank of Iran · Coalition immobilisation of Central Bank of Russia reserves (2022-present) · Sovereign immunity of central bank assets · Financial warfare · Economic statecraft

Sources

• Jimmy Carter, 'Executive Order 12170: Blocking Iranian Government property', 14 November 1979, Federal Register 44, p. 65729, reproduced by the National Archives and Records Administration; accessed 7 November 2026.
• United States Congress, 'Public Law 95-223', 28 December 1977, United States Statutes at Large 91, pp. 1625-1629, especially sections 101 and 201-203; accessed 7 November 2026.
• Robert Carswell, 'Memorandum From the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury to the Special Coordination Committee and the National Security Council', 22 November 1979, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1977-1980, vol. XI, part 1, document 48; accessed 7 November 2026.
• Government of Algeria, 'General Declaration and Claims Settlement Declaration', 19 January 1981, reproduced by the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal; accessed 7 November 2026.
• Supreme Court of the United States, 'Dames & Moore v Regan', 453 United States Reports 654 (1981), decided 2 July 1981, especially pp. 662-688; accessed 7 November 2026.
• Donald J. Trump, 'Continuation of the National Emergency With Respect to Iran' (Notice of 3 November 2026), Federal Register 91, no. 213 (5 November 2026), p. 69947, FR Doc. 2026-22685; accessed 7 November 2026.