Washington - The United States has moved to cut off all
Iranian transactions routed through US banks to further tighten
sanctions over the Islamic state's nuclear and other illicit
activities, the US Treasury Department announced Thursday.
Iranian banks and other institutions could previously send
transactions through US banks as long as they were initiated by a
non-Iranian or American bank outside the US and ended in a non-
Iranian or American bank outside the US.
That practice, known as 'U-Turn' transactions, has been banned in
attempt to further isolate Iran's financial sector, said Stuart
Levey, an undersecretary in the Treasury Department.
'With today's action, Iran's potential to manipulate US financial
institutions has been significantly curtailed,' Levey said.
The US has sought to increase pressure on Iran by cutting it off
from the global economy, and curb Iran's ability to use the
international finance system to fund its alleged activities to
acquire nuclear weapons capability, develop missiles and support
terrorism.
Levey said in recent years banks in Europe and other countries
have also been taking steps in the wake of limited UN Security
Council sanctions to punish Tehran for refusing to halt uranium
enrichment.
'Back in September of 2006, I could count on one hand the major
banks that had cut off or dramatically reduced their business with
Iran. Now there are only a few that have not done so,' Levey said.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story