Case No. ICC-EO14203-2025-1429692-1
Xiangnong Wang
Middle East Studies Association
c/o Knight First Amendment Institute
at Columbia University
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 302
New York, NY 10115
Dear Mr. Wang:
This responds to your request to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dated October 14, 2025 (the “Application”), submitted on behalf of Middle East Studies Association (“MESA”), requesting interpretive guidance to provide confirmation that including Francesca Albanese as a speaker at the MESA’s upcoming January 28, 2026 virtual event (the “Event”) is not prohibited under Executive Order 14203 (E.O. 14203), “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court” or the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 C.F.R. § 528 (the “ICCSR”).
According to the Application, MESA was established in 1966 and is a U.S. nonprofit membership association of faculty, students, and researchers interested in the study of the Middle East, including Southwest Asia, the Arab world, and North Africa. MESA’s mission is to foster the study of the Middle East, promote high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourage public understanding of the region and its peoples. As part of its programming, MESA regularly invites experts to speak to members on issues relevant to its mission and its members’ interests.
According to the Application, the Event is scheduled for January 28, 2026 and will be held virtually. Ms. Albanese will deliver a keynote address over Zoom to MESA’s members. Ms. Albanese will then participate in a moderated conversation with an interlocutor from MESA. Finally, MESA’s members will be invited to engage with Ms. Albanese directly during an open-ended question and answer session.
E.O. 14203, as incorporated into the ICCSR, blocks all property and interests in property of persons listed, designated or otherwise blocked pursuant to E.O. 14203 that are in the United States, that come within the United States, or that come within the possession or control of any United States person. On July 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated Francesca Albanese pursuant to section 1(a)(ii)(A) of E.O. 14203.
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the statute pursuant to which E.O. 14203 was issued, provides that the authority granted to the President by IEEPA “does not include the authority to regulate or prohibit, directly or indirectly … any postal, telegraphic, telephonic, or other personal communication, which does not involve a transfer of anything of value … or, the importation from any country, or the exportation to any country, whether commercial or otherwise, … of any information or informational materials.” 50 U.S.C. § 1702(b)(1)(3).
Furthermore, public guidance available on OFAC’s website, (FAQ 1190), https://ofac.treasury.gov/faqs, provides that “no authorization is necessary for U.S. persons to engage in activities that are not prohibited or are otherwise exempt from sanctions.”
• Upon review of the information you have provided, OFAC has determined that including Ms. Albanese as a speaker in a virtual format at the Event, under the circumstances described in the Application, is not prohibited under IEEPA, and thus no authorization is necessary. In making this determination, OFAC has considered the following facts and representations set forth in the Application: MESA will not engage in any financial transaction, directly or indirectly, with or for the benefit of Francesca Albanese or any other sanctioned party. Specifically, MESA will not offer Francesca Albanese an honorarium for her participation in the event, and she will not incur any reimbursable expenses for her virtual participation.
• MESA will not provide any specialized training or assistance to Francesca Albanese, or receive from Francesca Albanese any specialized training or assistance.
Please note that this determination is based upon the facts and representations you have provided. OFAC does not prohibit the type of conduct described here. However, OFAC is aware of instances where sanctioned persons have used conferences to engage in conduct that threatens U.S. national security, such as using conferences as a platform to recruit and collect intelligence on attendees, facilitate connections among those who would seek to harm U.S. persons or interests, or provide training or instruction in how to launder money, evade U.S. sanctions, or otherwise violate U.S. sanctions. We urge due diligence by U.S. persons to guard against such abuse.
If you have any additional questions, you may refer to the OFAC website at https://ofac.treasury.gov.
Sincerely,
[2025.12.10]
Kelly M. Falconi
Chief, Licensing
Office of Foreign Assets Control
1) Compare Case No. MUL-2022-904838-1 (Revised) and Case No. IA-2019-362796-1. This is the most recent version of a formal interpretive guidance letter confirming that a U.S. person can host an SDN to speak at a conference in the absence of any authorization for such activities.
2) In Case No. IA-2019-362796-1, OFAC cites the informational materials exemption (and travel exemption), and concludes that “no further authorization from OFAC is required” to host the SDN for a speech. This was ambiguous as to whether OFAC regarded the activities within the scope of any prohibition to begin with. In Case No. MUL-2022-904838-1 (Revised), OFAC cited the personal communications and informational materials exemptions and ultimately determined that “actions ordinarily incident to facilitating [SDN] participation as speakers…is not a service prohibited by U.S. sanctions and thus no authorization is necessary.” There, the exemptions were cited by not needed because of the “no service” determination (which was necessary given that some of the speakers at issue were blocked pursuant to programs for which no exemptions applied). Here, OFAC cites the personal communications and informational materials exemptions in a context where the SDN is blocked pursuant to an IEEPA-based sanctions program only, and concludes that “OFAC has determined that including [the SDN] as a speaker in a virtual format at the Event…is not prohibited under IEEPA, and thus no authorization is necessary.” Here, like Case No. MUL-2022-904838-1 (Revised), the conclusion appears to be that the activities at issue to not rise to the level of a prohibited “service” (otherwise they would be “prohibited” in principle and require an exemption).
3) This guidance letter, apart from the value inherent in the fact that was issued under the second Trump administration, supplements the other two letters cited in two important ways. OFAC acknowledges that the speaker is not just reading from a speech (that may have been prepared in advance), but instead the SDN would “participate in a moderated conversation with an interlocutor from [U.S. person organization]” and members of that organization would “engage with [SDN] directly during an open-ended question and answer session.” It is also notable that the content of the SDN’s speech was closely linked to the activity for which she was sanctioned (https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/sanctioning-lawfare-that-targets-u-s-and-israeli-persons), and that the applicant explicitly acknowledged that members of the U.S. person entity would be “encouraged to share their own research and findings with [the SDN] both to support the general goals of ending the occupation and protecting human rights and to aid Ms. Albanese in her work as a special rapporteur.” The part about aiding her “in her work as a special rapporteur” is especially worth highlighting given the “not prohibited” determination.
4) OFAC’s statement concerning “due diligence by U.S. persons to guard against…abuse” as it relates to SDNs using “conferences to engage in conduct that threatens U.S. national security” is ambiguous as it relates to the question of what is and is not prohibited. Is guarding against such abuses required, or is this a matter of “moral suasion?” The problem with OFAC taking the former position is that there is no standard for determining what constitutes “conduct that threatens U.S. national security,” and indeed, U.S. persons aiding Albanese “in her work as a special rapporteur” is precisely the kind of conduct that one would expect OFAC to consider undermining national security, given the reason for the designation in the first place. Using conference as a vehicle for “training or instruction in how to launder money, evade U.S. sanctions, or otherwise violate U.S. Sanctions” is a bit different, because regulation of such activity has already withstood judicial scrutiny in the conference context (see United States v. Griffith (1:20-cr-00015) (2021); OFAC "Licensing Determination"). See generally General Note on Conferences and Live Exchanges of Information (System Ed. Note).