Page:Bank Markazi v. Peterson SCOTUS slip opinion.pdf/7

BANK MARKAZI v. PETERSON

Opinion of the Court A “blocked asset” is any asset seized by the Executive Branch pursuant to either the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), 40 Stat. 411, 50 U. S. C. App. 1 et seq., or the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 91 Stat. 1625, 50 U. S. C. §1570 et seq. See TRIA §201(d)(2). Both measures, TWEA and IEEPA, authorize the President to freeze the assets of “foreign enemy state[s]” and their agencies and instrumentalities. Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 25. These blocking regimes “put control of foreign assets in the hands of the President so that he may dispose of them in the manner that best furthers the United States’ foreign-relations an national-security interests.” Ibid. (internal quotation marks omitted).

Invoking his authority under the IEEPA, the President, in February 2012, issued an Executive Order blocking “[a]ll property and interests in property of any Iranian financial institution, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States.” Exec. Order No. 13599, 3 CFR 215 (2012 Comp.). The availability of these assets for execution, however, was contested.