Executive Order 13617: Blocking Property of the Government of the Russian Federation Relating to the Disposition of Highly Enriched Uranium Extracted From Nuclear Weapons
President: Barack Obama
Protected Russian government payments tied to the weapons-uranium disposition agreement from attachment or transfer.
Status: Revoked. Is Executive Order 13617 still in effect? No. Executive Order 13617 was revoked. See Executive Order 13695: Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Created by the Accumulation of a Large Volume of Weapons-Usable Fissile Material in the Territory of the Russian Federation, Federal Register record.
What does Executive Order 13617 do?
EO 13617 blocked a narrow class of Russian government property directly related to the 1993 highly enriched uranium agreements. The purpose was protective: shielding payments so the final “Megatons to Megawatts” transfers could proceed, rather than imposing a general commercial sanction on Russia. After the program’s successful completion, EO 13695 terminated the emergency and revoked the order in May 2015.
Later evidence reviewed September 23, 2026: OFAC published notice of the termination. Treasury OFAC — EO 13695 termination notice. The termination notice documents the end of this emergency; later Venezuela sanctions have separate authorities.
Before and after
Before the order
Agreement payments risked attachment or legal process that could disrupt the final disposition work.
After the order
Covered funds were protected until the uranium program concluded and the emergency ended.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury | Administer the narrow blocking protection | Completed |
| US persons | Avoid transfer or attachment of covered property | Ended |
| Parties to HEU agreements | Complete disposition and payment transfers | Completed |
What happened next
EO 13617 declared the narrow emergency.
EO 13695 terminated the emergency and revoked EO 13617.
OFAC published notice of the termination.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
IEEPA and the National Emergencies Act supported the temporary protection. Other Russia sanctions rest on different emergencies and do not continue EO 13617.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- Energy Department — Megatons to Megawatts (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on September 23, 2026. How we research →