Central Bank Deputy: Iranophobia in the Banking Sector Continues

The Deputy of the Central Bank's supervisory department announced the bank's efforts to alleviate foreign banks' concerns in order to cooperate with Iranian banks following the Vienna nuclear agreement, stating that 'Iranophobia in the banking sector' still persists. According to the state news agency IRNA, Hamid Tehranfar said on Saturday, March 6, at the second Iran-Europe banking and commercial conference that Iranian banks are 'very eager' to align themselves with international standards after the lifting of sanctions. Tehranfar mentioned that the Central Bank has requested the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide its opinion on Iran's banking regulations regarding anti-money laundering, which the IMF will announce in 2018. According to ISNA news agency, the Central Bank's supervisory deputy also stated that the IMF's opinion could significantly alleviate existing concerns regarding Iranian banks. The lifting of sanctions on Iranian banks was one of the commitments of the Western side in the Vienna nuclear agreement. In late January, nine Iranian banks were officially removed from international sanctions. In this regard, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, Director General of Political and International Security Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, announced on Wednesday, February 17, that the Central Bank and 15 other Iranian banks have been connected to the SWIFT network. SWIFT is an organization that enables secure, fast, and cost-effective financial communications between banks worldwide. Iranian banks were connected to this system until 2011, but after the intensification of banking and oil sanctions against Tehran, the connection of sanctioned Iranian banks to this system was cut off on March 17 of that year. Regarding the 'continuation of sanctions in banking transactions,' Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, recently stated that the commitments of the other party in this regard 'have not been fully implemented.' Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, also reported on Tuesday, March 2, in an interview with the 'Al-Arabi Al-Jadid' website, about the delays of some major European banks in lifting sanctions against Iran. Meanwhile, in February of this year, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, asked the U.S. to assure European banks that they would not face penalties for conducting legitimate and legal transactions with Iran. At that time, AFP quoted some European financial and banking officials as saying that despite the lifting of nuclear sanctions, the status of relations between European banks and Iran remains ambiguous, and they are cautious and waiting for the situation to clarify. In this context, Matthias Fekl, the French Minister of Foreign Trade, called for Washington to clarify the parameters and timeline regarding the lifting of sanctions on Iran. Reuters also reported on February 14, citing banking and political officials, that although nuclear sanctions have been lifted, sanctions related to 'terrorism' and 'human rights' continue to keep Iran from the operational scope of American banks. In the 'Countering the Financing of Terrorism' law, which was approved in an open session of the Iranian Parliament on February 8 and confirmed by the Guardian Council on March 6, penalties have been established for individuals who assist in 'financing terrorism.' However, actions taken by 'nations or groups or liberation organizations' to confront 'domination, foreign occupation, colonialism, and racism' are not considered acts of terrorism.