U.S. Treasury Department: U.S. Vote Against World Bank's Work in Iran

According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Treasury Department, "legal requirements" will lead the U.S. to vote negatively on the World Bank's work and investment in Iran. In a report published on Wednesday, April 27, the spokesperson stated that the U.S. representative at the World Bank has "constraints" regarding Iran. The spokesperson, whose name was not mentioned in the AFP report, said, "Current legal rulings will cause the U.S. representative to vote negatively on any World Bank loans to Iran." The report also noted that the World Bank, based in Washington, D.C., and the largest shareholder of which is the United States, shows no inclination to return to Iran despite the lifting of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic. This point was somewhat corroborated by Jim Yong Kim, the bank's president, who said in an interview with AFP, "We are closely monitoring the situation... but we have no specific plans." The World Bank, the largest development bank in the world, has not undertaken any new projects in Iran since 2005 to comply with international sanctions against the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities. The issue of foreign banks' fear or reluctance to work again in Iran has been a topic in the news almost every week since the implementation of the nuclear agreement began in January, leading to protests from Iranian officials. Among these recent protests is Ayatollah Khamenei's statement on Wednesday, accusing the Obama administration of declaring sanctions lifted only on paper while still preventing foreign companies and banks from operating in Iran. The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic stated in a speech to a group of workers that Americans are obstructing Iran's transactions with other countries by creating Iranophobia. According to Khamenei's official website, he described Americans as unreliable and stated that by continuing various sanctions against Iran and fostering Iranophobia, they are practically hindering economic relations between Iran and other countries. This point was also mentioned by the head of Iran's Central Bank, who recently stated that large banks are hesitant to establish banking relations with Iran due to penalties imposed by the U.S., but smaller and medium-sized banks have no issues with Iran. In this context, a report from AFP quoted an expert stating that companies are unlikely to show interest in participating in World Bank projects in Iran. According to this expert, the reason for this reluctance is that payments from the World Bank "will go through the U.S. banking system, which could make these companies vulnerable to U.S. sanctions." While international sanctions related to Iran's nuclear activities have officially been lifted following the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA since January, unilateral U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic due to terrorism and human rights violations remain in effect.