On October 9, 2012, the Department of Treasury announced that it had extended the General License allowing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to raise and send funds to Iran for humanitarian relief related to the August earthquakes for an additional 45 days.  The license extends the deadline until November 19. A day before the license was set to expire on October 5 a group of 12 members of Congress had called on President Obama to extend the waiver. In August, two quakes in Northwestern Iran claimed the lives of 306 people and injured more than 4500 others.

Under the license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on August 21, NGOs can transfer up to $300,000 to Iran for relief and reconstruction activity related to the quake. Groups must submit detailed reports to Treasury about the assistance, including “the dollar amount of the transfers, the recipient(s) of the funds, and the intended use of the funds.” Assurances to banks conducting the transfers is also provided, as long as no money is transferred to entities black-listed by U.S. sanctions related to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. NGOs interested in transferring more than $300,000 need to request a specific license from Treasury.