Toner: Washington Will Not Allow Iran Access to the US Financial System

Mark Toner, spokesperson for the US State Department, stated on Monday, April 5, that the Obama administration does not intend to allow Iran access to the US financial system. According to Reuters, Toner said, "The government (of Barack Obama) has not had and does not have a plan to allow Iran access to the US financial system." This comes after President Barack Obama also clarified on Friday that he does not intend to issue a permit for Iran to access the US financial market, and foreign banks cooperating with Iran must resolve their issues through European banks. Last week, a US government official mentioned that the Obama administration is considering easing some sanctions for non-American companies so they can use the US financial system to secure the dollars needed for transactions with Iran. Following these reports, several US Congress members, particularly Republicans, expressed concern over the potential plan by the Obama administration to grant Iran permission to use the dollar in its currency transactions. However, Jacob Lew, the US Treasury Secretary, also stated last week that the aim of these actions is to facilitate some of the sanctions on Iran and that Tehran will not be granted access to the US financial system. In Iran, conservative critics of the nuclear agreement have also criticized the US for continuing to prevent the use of the dollar despite the nuclear deal. In response to these criticisms, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated in a television program that "some sanctions still remain that are unrelated to the JCPOA and nuclear issues," adding, "We have said from the beginning that the primary US sanctions and non-nuclear-related sanctions remain in place." Araghchi further noted, "I do not understand why some are so interested in the dollar and keep asking why dollar sanctions have not been lifted." According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the Deputy Foreign Minister clarified, "Using the dollar or benefiting from US financial systems is subject to the primary sanctions related to the early revolution, which will not be lifted by the JCPOA." Iran and six world powers reached an agreement on July 14 last year to end the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, agreeing to significantly reduce Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear sanctions against the Islamic Republic. This agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was implemented in January of last year.