Consequences of Reestablishing Iranian Banks' Connection to the SWIFT System

Following the nuclear agreement, the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran, Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday that, according to Valiollah Seif, the Governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic, as of Tuesday, February 1, 2023, the financial communications of 9 Iranian banks will be reestablished with the SWIFT network. Kamran Dadkhah, a university professor and economic expert in Boston, USA, stated to Radio Farda that the significance of reconnecting Iranian banks to the SWIFT network lies in reducing the costs of financial transactions and preventing corruption. Jamshid Asadi, a university professor and economic expert in Paris, also told Radio Farda that the lifting of sanctions, in any form, is beneficial for Iran. The SWIFT system, a Belgian company owned by major international banks, was established in 1973 in compliance with European Union laws, the U.S. Treasury, and central banks of several other economic powers in Brussels. Currently, over 9,000 banks and financial institutions from 200 countries benefit from SWIFT's services, and Iranian financial institutions and banks had utilized this system for their currency transfers, especially in the oil trade, prior to the sanctions. Following escalating tensions between Iran and Western countries over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, SWIFT announced on March 15, 2012, that it would cease providing communication services to Iranian banks and financial institutions under sanctions, following a decision by the European Union.