29 Mar 2024
Tuesday 13 November 2018 - 11:48
Story Code : 326552

SWIFT cut off sanctioned Iranian Central Bank - US Treasury



Sputnik - The US announced the re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran that were previously lifted under the JCPOA on 5 November. Prior to this date, Washington had warned the Belgium-based organization working with interbank transactions that it would also fall under sanctions if it continued to work with Iranian banks.




Deputy Secretary ofthe US Treasury Sigal Mandelker announced that SWIFT had cut-off Iranian financial institutions targeted bythe US sanctions.The Iranian central bank is amongthe entities that lost their connection toSWIFT.The US Treasury official stressed that Washington would be strictly enforcing its sanctions regime againstTehran and announced that there would be "a lot more fromthe US onIran."

Mandelker noted that Washington is not concerned bythe idea ofthe creation ofa special-purpose vehicle (SPV) inthe EU towork withIran, expressing confidence that the US and Europe could still work together.The official noted that despitethe idea ofan SPV, "companies already are leaving Iran."
"I am not concerned bythe SPV actually atall. I think the bigger news inEurope is that companies are withdrawing fromIran indroves," she said.


SWIFT, a global messaging network designed fororganizing financial communications betweenbanks, earlierannouncedthat it would sever its links toseveral Iranian banks and institutions forthe sake ofthe overall stability ofthe network. The organization didn't say directly that it was cutting offIranian banks subject tothe new US sanctions.

The announcement bythe financial messaging network came onthe same day asUS Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo announced the imposition ofsanctions againstthe Iranian banking, energy and shipping spheres. Several days prior tothe announcement, Mnuchin warned that SWIFT is no different thanany other entity and could therefore also fall undersecondary sanctions if it were tocontinue towork withIranian banks.

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