John Kerry Aims to Encourage European Banks to Collaborate with Iran

According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet with European bank executives in London on Thursday. Reuters, citing British sources, reported that Mr. Kerry's goal for this meeting is to encourage them to engage in transactions with Iran and to finance economic projects in the country. Following the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 countries and the lifting of economic and financial sanctions against Iran, some sanctions, such as the prohibition of using the dollar for Iranian banking and financial transactions, remain in place. The consequence of this prohibition is that many European banks are reluctant to cooperate with Iran due to their close and extensive financial ties with American banks and institutions, as the potential benefits of transactions with Iran are not significant enough to justify risking their collaboration with the U.S. According to Reuters, the British Bankers' Association confirmed the meeting but did not provide further details to the press. Last month, Mr. Kerry announced that the U.S. has no objections to banks' financial relations with Iran and that he would personally work to alleviate banks' uncertainties. The lack of cooperation from banks with Iran in recent months has been a major point of criticism from hardline opponents of the nuclear deal against President Hassan Rouhani's government. Notably, Ayatollah Khamenei stated in his Nowruz speech this year in Mashhad that although Iran has fulfilled its commitments, the U.S. is evading its obligations. Mehrdad Emadi, an economic expert in London, expressed to Radio Farda that he believes this meeting could yield positive results. When asked why the U.S. does not unilaterally lift the sanctions that hinder European banks' cooperation with Iran, Emadi pointed to the Republican majority in Congress and the short remaining time of Barack Obama's administration, suggesting that no significant actions should be expected in this regard. Iranian media reporting on this meeting noted that it was held at the suggestion of Philip Hammond, the British Foreign Secretary, and that several executives from French and German banks would also be present.