Mnuchin: SWIFT to Halt Services to Iran's Central Bank

Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, announced on Thursday, November 8, the complete cessation of access for Iran's Central Bank and U.S.-sanctioned financial institutions to the SWIFT interbank messaging network. Mnuchin tweeted: "I know that SWIFT will cut services to Iran's Central Bank and sanctioned financial institutions." He added that SWIFT is making the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system. This comes after SWIFT had announced on Monday that it would suspend cooperation with several Iranian banks. SWIFT expressed regret over its decision to cut ties with Iranian banks, stating that this action is taken to maintain the integrity and stability of the international financial system. However, SWIFT did not specify the names of these Iranian banks and institutions. SWIFT, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a secure messaging network for transferring money between banks globally. Without this company's services, transactions for Iranian banks, even with customers willing to engage despite U.S. sanctions, will become more difficult. After the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in 2015, some sanctions against Iranian banks and oil industries were lifted. However, following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA on May 8 of this year, these sanctions were reimposed on Monday. Last week, Mnuchin warned SWIFT that it must sever financial ties with all sanctioned names and entities, or else the organization itself could face sanctions. In this context, the European Commission expressed regret over SWIFT's decision to suspend access for some Iranian banks. Maya Kocijancic, a spokesperson for the European Commission, stated that they find this decision regrettable. Meanwhile, an unnamed EU representative told the Russian news agency TASS that cutting off Iranian banks' access to SWIFT "could undermine the coherence of the international financial system." He added that the EU continues to support the JCPOA as this agreement "contributes to the advancement of security." Meanwhile, American lawmakers supporting Donald Trump were previously working on a plan regarding this issue. According to this plan, if SWIFT does not cut Iran's access to its system, the U.S. government would be required to impose sanctions on SWIFT members, including some American banks. According to the Associated Press, opponents of cutting off Iran's access to SWIFT in the U.S. argue that such an action could first make it harder to monitor Iran's transactions due to Iran's turn to alternative mechanisms and second, make it more difficult for Iranians to access humanitarian goods, such as medicine.