Press TV - The spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry says the country’s embassy in Malaysia is doing its best to solve problems resulting from banking restrictions considered for Iranian nationals by some financial institutions in Malaysia.

Abbas Mousavi made the remarks on Thursday in reaction to reports denoting that banks in Malaysia are closing the accounts of Iranian individuals and companies, in what is believed to be a measure linked to sanctions imposed by Washington against Tehran after the former left the landmark Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Since quitting the JCPOA, US President Donald Trump has been running what he refers to as a "maximum pressure" campaign, which seeks to pressure Iran into negotiating a new deal that addresses its ballistic missile program and regional influence.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Mousavi said, “Unfortunately, under the influence of the United States’ economic terrorism, some Malaysian banks have considered restrictions for opening accounts and providing services to Iranian nationals.”
“Our country’s embassy in Malaysia is in talks with Malaysian state institutions and banking officials … and various rounds of talks have been held with relevant Malaysian officials with the main topic on the agenda of those talks being to find a solution to this problem,” Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman added.
Mousavi also expressed hope that the “friendly country of Malaysia” will adopt measures based on goodwill as well as its clear stance against unilateral sanctions to find solutions to this problem.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Wednesday that his country was pressured into closing bank accounts of Iranian individuals and companies, but maintained that ties with Tehran were good.

“We are forced to close the bank accounts by certain quarters. If we don’t, they will close our banks abroad,” he said, adding that one could guess who these quarters were.

He said it did not mean Malaysia was “helping” stifle the movement of Iranians here, reiterating that the country was forced to take the action.

Trump announced on September 20 that his country has imposed sanctions on Iran's central bank in the latest round of Washington’s anti-Iran measures, adding that sanctions imposed on Iran’s central bank were the highest sanctions ever imposed on a foreign country by Washington.

In reaction, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US sanctions on the Iranian central bank clearly showed Washington’s “desperate approach” toward the Islamic Republic.

“The new sanctions are aimed at blocking Iran’s international transactions and its access to food and medicine. This move is unacceptable and dangerous,” Zarif added.

In response to the move, Iran's central bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati described the new sanctions a sign of Washington's inability to exert “leverage.”

"The US administration sanctioning the central bank again shows how empty their hands are in finding leverage against Iran," Hemmati added.