Central Bank of Iran President Calls for Support from European Banks and Companies

Continuing the insistence of Islamic Republic officials on the United States' breach of the JCPOA, the President of the Central Bank of Iran also reached out to European banks and companies on Wednesday, October 7. Valiollah Seif, who is currently in Vienna, Austria, appealed to European banks and asked them to use their influence in the United States. According to Austria's official news agency, Mr. Seif urged major European banks and companies to leverage their influence in the U.S. to expedite 'the implementation of financial and investment projects in Iran.' In an interview with the news agency, Seif stated, 'We expect European banks and companies to assist us in explaining to U.S. officials that they must fulfill their promises under the JCPOA.' In response to the U.S. Energy Secretary regarding his country's commitments under the JCPOA, this Iranian official pointed out and rejected the claims made by the American official. According to the Central News Unit, Valiollah Seif, in Vienna, commented on the statements of Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, saying, 'The reality is that this claim from the American side is not correct, and the commitments that the U.S. government undertook in the JCPOA are still unfulfilled.' This is a reaction to Mr. Moniz's recent claim about compliance with commitments under the JCPOA. Ernest Moniz stated last Monday that his country has complied with all its commitments under the nuclear agreement and 'there is no reason for Iran to claim that the U.S. has not taken necessary actions to lift sanctions.' However, this contradicts the claims made by Iranian officials from the Supreme Leader and President to government ministers. Last week, Hassan Rouhani, the President, who traveled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, emphasized that the U.S. government has not fulfilled all its commitments under the nuclear agreement, or JCPOA. This complaint was echoed in earlier statements by Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Foreign Minister, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. Mr. Salehi even went so far as to warn that the failure to completely lift sanctions could jeopardize the future of the JCPOA. Since the implementation of the JCPOA in January of last year until now, only small and medium-sized banks around the world have been willing to trade with Iran, free from the fear of U.S. penalties. Major international banks are still hesitant to engage in direct transactions with Iran or support foreign investments in the country due to fears of violating remaining U.S. sanctions against Iran. The nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers led to the lifting of sanctions related to nuclear activities, but these are not all the sanctions that have plagued the Islamic Republic: terrorist and human rights sanctions against Iran remain in place, two categories for which Iranian officials do not consider themselves responsible.