A view of French BNP Paribas bank headquarters in Paris[/caption]The US Treasury Department authorized the French bank BNP Paribas to do business in Iran earlier this year as US prosecutors were mulling a hefty fine over charges that it violated US sanctions against Tehran, says a report.
The US Treasury Department granted the bank two licenses in February and March for transactions in Iran as sanctions were being reduced against the country following Tehrans interim nuclear deal with the P5 + 1 group.
BNP Paribas, Frances biggest bank, received the licenses to conduct certain commercial and financial transactions in Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
The permission was given at a time when federal prosecutors were negotiating a stiff penalty of 10 billion dollars on the BNP Paribas over the banks alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran and other countries.
The French bank, which is one of Europes biggest banks, will also be deprived of providing services in dollars if the penalty is imposed.
The case has caused uproar in France. French President Francois Hollande has called the punishment disproportionate and unfair.
France's National Front (FN), which made a surprise showing in European Parliament elections earlier in May, has said that the French government is not properly protecting BNP Paribas against the US pressure.
The National Front has also insisted that the French government must stand up to the US pressure on French companies to abandon their interests in other countries like Iran.
The party says auto giant Peugeot was a victim of this policy when it was forced out of the Iranian market only to be replaced by competitors.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States - plus Germany signed an interim nuclear agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, last November.
Under the Geneva agreement, the Sextet agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period.
By Press TV
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