Swiss Bank Halts Financial Transactions with Iran

The Swiss bank "BCP" has stated that following the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, known as the JCPOA, it has ceased new financial transactions with Iran and is significantly reducing its activities related to the country. This Swiss bank informed Reuters on Tuesday, June 8, that since May 8 (three weeks ago, coinciding with Donald Trump's announcement of the U.S. exit from the JCPOA), it has stopped all new financial transactions with Iran and has begun to significantly reduce its relations with Iran in accordance with the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control's statement. U.S. sanctions are set to be implemented 180 days after the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, a situation that has led several European companies, including Total of France, to announce that they are unable to continue operations with Iran. Reuters reports that the bank "BCP," which has been active since 1963, has been one of the active players in financial transactions related to trade and finance with Iran. The report does not specify whether the mentioned bank has been active solely within the framework of trade relations between Iran and Switzerland or if it also covered Iran's commercial activities in other European countries. However, according to an official report from the Iranian Trade Organization, Switzerland was the largest exporter of goods to Iran among European countries after Germany last year. The value of this country's exports to Iran increased by 82% last year, reaching 2 billion and 158 million dollars. The announcement of the Swiss bank's cessation of cooperation with Iran comes as Germany's central cooperative bank (DZ Bank), the second largest bank in the country by assets, announced on May 18 that it would stop cooperation with Iran. Germany increased its exports to Iran by 22% last year, reaching 3 billion and 83 million dollars, making it the fifth-largest exporter of goods to Iran after China, the UAE, South Korea, and Turkey. However, last week, German media reported that six small banks in the south of the country continue to engage in financial transactions related to Iran despite U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Aside from DZ Bank, in recent weeks, major German banks like Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank have implicitly or explicitly announced the cessation of their financial transactions with Iran. Iran has stated that if its interests from the JCPOA are not met by Europe, it will withdraw from the nuclear agreement. The three European countries involved in the nuclear deal, France, Germany, and the UK, claim they are trying to preserve the JCPOA.