Switzerland's Efforts to Establish Banking Channels for Food and Medicine Sales to Iran

As all US sanctions against Iran are being reinstated, the Swiss government announced that it is negotiating with Tehran and Washington to open a banking channel for the sale of humanitarian goods to Iran. The Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs stated in a statement released on Monday, November 14, that the country is 'carefully monitoring' developments related to US sanctions against Iran to protect its interests, and Swiss officials are 'in direct contact with relevant authorities in the United States, the European Union, and Iran.' According to the statement, the contacts are specifically regarding humanitarian items, and the Swiss government is 'committed to ensuring the export of food and pharmaceutical products from this country [to Iran].' Reuters reported that the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs did not provide further details on this matter. Iran and the US have not yet reacted to this Reuters report. US officials have repeatedly stated that the sanctions, aimed at 'changing the malign behavior' of the Islamic Republic, do not cover humanitarian items such as food and medicine. Iran's access to the SWIFT banking network has not been completely cut off, and according to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, this network has been asked to sever financial ties with all individuals and entities subject to sanctions, but banks can use SWIFT for humanitarian items. Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that even banks that 'play a key role in importing food and medicine' have been sanctioned 'on the grounds of alleged connections to the Basij through 8 intermediaries.' However, Brian Hook, a US State Department official, emphasized that the Iranian government is providing 'false information' to the people regarding this issue, stating that the goal of the US sanctions is not to harm humanitarian trade, including food and medicine. The Swiss embassy in Tehran represents US interests, and this country has not supported the actions of some European countries seeking to establish a banking mechanism with Iran. The Swiss company 'Nestlé,' one of the largest food producers in the world, stated in August, during the first round of reinstated US sanctions against Iran, that the sanctions have no direct consequences for the company's transactions with Tehran. According to Swiss media, last year, Switzerland's exports to Iran were about 536 million francs (equivalent to 534 million dollars), and its imports from Iran were about 311 million francs; however, in the first nine months of this year, these two figures dropped to 311 million and 17 million francs, respectively. Donald Trump announced in May this year that the nuclear agreement did not bring peace to the world and did not lead to a change in the behavior of the Islamic Republic, declaring the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. Subsequently, part of the sanctions that had been lifted under the JCPOA were reinstated in August, and the second part of these sanctions came into effect on the morning of Monday, November 14.