Brian Hook: Many Iranian Banks are 'Dirty Banks'

Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, once again described President Hassan Rouhani's recent trip to Iraq as not beneficial for the Iraqi people but aimed at 'dominating the country.' He warned Iraqi financial institutions to consider the sanctions against the Islamic Republic and to avoid cooperation with many Iranian banks that are 'dirty banks.' In an interview with Al-Hurra, an Arabic-language satellite network broadcast from the U.S., on Friday, March 15, he emphasized that since 1979, 'Iran's foreign policy certainly does not respect the sovereignty and independence of other countries; they are only seeking to undermine governments and replace them with sectarian identities.' Last week, during a three-day visit to Iraq, Hassan Rouhani met with political and religious officials, and agreements were signed between the two countries. Hook pointed out that 'it does not matter what Mr. Rouhani says in his public meetings and speeches or what he signs'; he insisted that 'their hidden goal is certainly to dominate Iraq and create a Shiite crescent.' He noted that Rouhani has even failed to fulfill his economic promises to the Iranian people, stating: 'The Iraqi people should not expect new promises to be fulfilled' and urged them to 'decide their fate away from the interventions of Hassan Rouhani and Qassem Soleimani.' Besides the eight countries that the U.S. has granted temporary exemptions for purchasing Iranian oil, Iraq has also been allowed to continue temporarily purchasing energy from Iran. Hook mentioned that southern Iraq is temporarily exempt from sanctions for importing electricity from Iran, stating that the U.S. goal of this exemption was 'to help the Iraqis, not the Iranian regime.' Some observers and analysts have assessed Rouhani's recent trip to Iraq as an attempt to 'circumvent sanctions.' Hook rejected such assessments, warning Iraqi banks and financial institutions to be cautious in their dealings with Iranian banks and not to violate U.S. sanctions and global standards. This U.S. official emphasized that many Iranian banks are 'dirty banks that are deeply corrupt and only serve the regime,' stating: 'These are the same banks that the global SWIFT system has cut off from its network.' He described Iran's financial system as 'deliberately opaque and non-transparent,' explaining that the reason for this 'deliberate opacity' is that 'the regime does not want the people to understand where the money goes. If they understand, they will see how the regime spends money in the Middle East, in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain to achieve its ambitions in the region.' Iranian officials have not yet reacted to Hook's new statements, but the Iranian Foreign Ministry had previously described his comments as 'interventionist.' Donald Trump announced the official withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA in May of this year, after which all U.S. sanctions against Iran were reinstated. Some Iranian officials have stated that they will circumvent the sanctions using previous experiences. However, Hook, in an interview with Al-Hurra, noted that the Trump administration's approach to imposing sanctions on Iran is significantly different from that of the Obama administration, stating that the sanctions have had 'a significant impact on the Iranian regime' and that Iranian officials have made 'no progress' in circumventing the sanctions. Hook stated that to seriously enforce the sanctions and 'cut Iran's access to billions and billions of dollars,' both Iranian oil exports have been sanctioned and 'multiple banking loopholes that allowed the Iranian regime to circumvent the sanctions are being closed.' This U.S. official also referred to a recent speech by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, stating that his request for financial assistance from supporters is a result of the sanctions.