Iran rrk.ir: SSL Timeout; OFAC and EU Restrictive Measures

TL;DR. Iran is subject to the most complete US sanctions program in force. OFAC’s Iran sanctions (including secondary sanctions) effectively prohibit US persons, and most international financial institutions, from conducting any transaction with Iranian entities without a specific OFAC license. The EU maintains a parallel regime of restrictive measures. A live GET of https://www.rrk.ir and https://rrk.ir returned HTTP 000 SSL connection timeout. https://www.iccima.ir is NXDOMAIN. Do not invent registry UI, IRR fees, or Instant access past that wall. lastVerifiedUtc is 2026-09-04 because the live check was attempted and the timeout was recorded.

The sanctions overlay: read this first

The sanctions framework comes before the registry because it defines what foreign buyers can and cannot do.

OFAC Iran sanctions. The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) maintains complete Iran sanctions under multiple executive orders and the Iran Sanctions Act. The sanctions prohibit US persons (including US-owned or US-controlled foreign entities) from virtually all transactions with the Government of Iran, Iranian financial institutions, and entities meeting the definition of an Iranian person. This includes trade, investment, financial services, and technology transfer. The Iran SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list at ofac.treasury.gov designates specific Iranian individuals, entities, and vessels, adding full-blocking obligations. Secondary sanctions provisions extend liability to non-US persons in certain circumstances, creating de facto restrictions for any entity with US banking relationships. See OFAC Iran Sanctions page for current program scope.

OFAC General Licenses. OFAC issues general licenses that carve out specific activities from Iran sanctions prohibitions. General licenses cover items such as personal communications technology, academic and research collaboration, NGO humanitarian activities, and certain food and medicine exports. Whether a contemplated transaction falls within a current general license is the threshold question. General licenses are published at ofac.treasury.gov and subject to amendment.

EU Restrictive Measures. The European Union maintains restrictive measures on Iran under multiple council decisions addressing Iran’s nuclear program (JCPOA-related), human rights violations, and support for third-country conflicts (including Russia). The EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List is available at eeas.europa.eu. EU persons are prohibited from transacting with listed Iranian entities and must comply with sectoral measures affecting the energy, financial, and transport sectors.

UN Security Council. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) and related Iran-specific resolutions apply to all UN member states. The JCPOA nuclear deal materially reduced UN sanctions; however, the US withdrawal from JCPOA (2018) and subsequent snapback processes have complicated the legal market.

Practical consequence. For a US person, and through secondary sanctions for most non-US financial institutions, onboarding an Iranian entity as a counterparty without a specific OFAC license falls inside the program’s prohibitions. This article is therefore primarily useful as: (a) background for the system in which Iranian entities are registered, and (b) guidance for the narrow cases where licensed activity is contemplated or where Iranian entities appear in complex ownership chains.

What is the official Iran business registry?

Iran’s domestic company registration authority is described as the Companies Registration Office, operating under the State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties (SORDAP). The previously cited public host is https://www.rrk.ir. A live GET of that host and apex https://rrk.ir returned HTTP 000 (SSL connection timeout). DNS resolves; TLS does not complete. curl -k did not recover a 200 page. Do not invent Persian-language search UI, national-ID login, or filing steps past that wall.

The Companies Registration Office handles registration of:

• Private joint-stock companies
• Public joint-stock companies
• Limited liability companies
• Partnerships and other entities under the Iranian Commercial Code

Iran’s Commercial Code dates to 1932 with subsequent amendments. Company registration under the Code involves filing with the local Companies Registration Office of the province where the company’s principal office is located. Those statutory labels were not re-read on a 200 HTML page.

What can you verify from outside Iran?

Direct registry access was not observed. https://www.rrk.ir SSL-timed out on Direct, and the DEC-055 Dual harness (curl_cffi Chrome, Direct and SOCKS, run by Ara on 2026-09-04 and posted on this PR) returned 000 on both Direct and SOCKS for www.rrk.ir and rrk.ir. https://www.iccima.ir is NXDOMAIN. Do not invent an ICCIMA verification service from that NXDOMAIN.

SWIFT disconnection. Iranian banks remain disconnected from the SWIFT international payment network under international sanctions. Any counterparty claiming to be an Iranian bank or Iranian financial institution cannot have SWIFT-based correspondent banking relationships with Western banks.

Commercial intelligence firms. A small number of Middle East-focused intelligence and due diligence firms maintain the capability to obtain basic Iranian company registration information through local contacts. This is a high-cost, long-turnaround pathway typically used only in litigation support, sanctions compliance investigation, or complex M&A scenarios. Engaging these firms requires legal review to ensure the engagement itself is within OFAC licensing.

Iranian entity in an ownership chain. If an Iranian entity (rather than your direct counterparty) appears in an ownership chain, the relevant question is whether your transaction constitutes a “transaction with” the Iranian entity within the meaning of applicable sanctions. That is a legal question, and most institutions route it to sanctions counsel. Institutional frameworks treat an Iranian entity at any level of an ownership chain as a material red flag that reaches their escalation tier.

How OFAC licensing works

If you have a business need that may qualify for OFAC authorization, the process is:

1. Review all published general licenses for Iran at ofac.treasury.gov to determine if an existing general license covers your activity.
2. If no general license applies, file a specific license application (SLA) with OFAC using the sanctions license application portal. SLAs require detailed factual information, legal basis, and often take several months to process.
3. While an application is pending, the underlying transaction cannot proceed.
4. OFAC civil penalty maximums for Iran sanctions violations are material, and criminal penalties apply for willful violations; activity ahead of confirmed authorization is what those penalties attach to.

Humanitarian organizations and NGOs conducting food, medicine, and agricultural commodity activities under applicable general licenses should consult the current license text carefully, as conditions and permitted parties are specified.

FATF status and AML risk

Iran has been on the FATF blacklist (High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action) since 2016. FATF calls on its members and jurisdictions to apply counter-measures to Iran given the strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT framework, including links to terrorism financing and proliferation financing risks. See fatf-gafi.org for current blacklist status. This check did not re-read a live FATF country page.

The FATF blacklist status, combined with complete sanctions programs, makes Iran one of the highest-risk jurisdictions globally from a financial crime compliance perspective.

Practical guidance for compliance buyers

• Iranian entity as counterparty: OFAC’s Iran program and the EU restrictive measures govern whether the transaction is lawful at all; where a specific OFAC license is required, onboarding without one is a sanctions breach, not a due diligence gap. This is a question for sanctions counsel rather than a registry search.
• Iranian entity in ownership chain: This is the escalation case in most institutional frameworks. The analysis is a sanctions nexus analysis: whether the transaction constitutes a prohibited dealing under the applicable sanctions programs.
• Iranian entity claiming sanctions exemption: Verify the claimed exemption against OFAC published general licenses. Do not rely on the counterparty’s self-certification alone.
• Humanitarian, academic, or NGO activities: The licensing framework permits more activity in these categories than commercial activity, but the specific conditions are set out in the current general licenses and, where those do not cover the activity, in specific licenses.
• Iran on SWIFT alternatives: No widely adopted alternative to SWIFT exists for Iran-related transactions as of this check. Claims of alternative payment routing should be treated as red flags, not solutions.

FAQ

Can I verify an Iranian company’s legal existence through the registry?

Not from this vantage. https://www.rrk.ir SSL-timed out (HTTP 000). Commercial intelligence firms with local Iran contacts can obtain basic registration data, but that activity is itself subject to the same OFAC authorization question. For most foreign compliance buyers, the practical answer is no.

Is any trade with Iran legal?

Some categories of transactions are permitted under OFAC general licenses, primarily humanitarian (food, medicine, agricultural commodities), personal communications technology, and academic/research exchanges. All other commercial transactions require a specific OFAC license. EU persons are subject to a parallel framework of EU restrictive measures with a different (but largely overlapping) set of prohibitions.

What is the FATF status of Iran?

Iran is on the FATF blacklist (High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action), the most severe FATF designation. This has been the case since 2016. Check fatf-gafi.org for current status.

If an Iranian entity holds a minority stake in my counterparty, does that block the transaction?

This depends on the ownership percentage, the specific OFAC sanctions program, and applicable OFAC 50% rule analysis. Under OFAC’s 50% rule, entities owned 50% or more (individually or in aggregate) by SDN-listed parties are themselves treated as blocked. For non-SDN Iranian entities, the analysis differs by program. Ownership-chain analysis involving Iranian entities at any level is counsel-level work in most institutions.

Last verified: 2026-09-04. Sources: live GET of https://www.rrk.ir and https://rrk.ir (HTTP 000 SSL connection timeout on Direct; 000 on both Direct and SOCKS in the DEC-055 Dual harness on this PR); https://www.iccima.ir NXDOMAIN. OFAC Iran Sanctions (ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/iran-sanctions); EU Restrictive Measures on Iran (eeas.europa.eu); FATF (fatf-gafi.org); UN Security Council Resolution 2231. For the full global due diligence framework, see our Global Business Due Diligence Guide.