Tasnim � The British government settled a 1.25 billion pound ($1.6 billion) damages claim brought by Iran�s largest private bank in a last-minute out-of-court deal following a dispute over sanctions.

Bank Mellat, which is 20% owned by the Iranian government and 80% privately held, said on Tuesday the legal row had been resolved for an undisclosed sum on the first day of a trial to assess its damages at London�s High Court, Reuters reported.

That comes six years after the UK Supreme Court ruled that sanctions imposed on the bank in 2009 were unlawful and that the government had been �irrational� and �disproportionate�. It referred the case back to the High Court.

Bank Mellat had argued that sanctions had damaged its reputation and goodwill in Britain and internationally, and caused significant loss.

The government�s Treasury Department issued a brief statement, saying, �Bank Mellat�s claims have been concluded on terms confidential to the parties.�

The sanctions were imposed by the Labour government under former prime minister Gordon Brown, claiming Bank Mellat engaged in conduct that supported and facilitated Iran�s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The sanctions � part of the 28-member European Council�s freeze of the funds of Iranian financial entities from 2010 � were however lifted in 2016 when an international nuclear deal with Iran came into effect.