European Commission: Suspension of Iranian Banks' Access to SWIFT is Regrettable

The European Commission stated on Wednesday that SWIFT's decision to suspend access for certain Iranian banks is "regrettable." According to Reuters, Maja Kocijancic, a spokesperson for the European Commission's foreign affairs, told reporters, "We consider this decision regrettable." An unnamed EU representative also told the Russian news agency TASS that cutting off Iranian banks' access to SWIFT "could disrupt the cohesion of the international financial system." He added that the EU continues to support the JCPOA because this agreement "contributes to the advancement of security." SWIFT is an international monetary system that facilitates financial communications between banks, connecting over 11,000 banks in more than 200 countries and regions. SWIFT stands for the "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication," headquartered in Belgium, but it has board members from American banks and federal agencies. SWIFT monitors all international banking transactions. On Monday, SWIFT officials announced that they would suspend cooperation with several Iranian banks in conjunction with the implementation of U.S. sanctions. SWIFT officials did not specify the names of these banks. Previously, the U.S. had threatened SWIFT with sanctions if it continued to cooperate with Iran. The EU's criticism of this decision comes as SWIFT itself stated in a release during the suspension of Iranian banks' access that "this action, although regrettable, is taken to maintain the integrity and stability of the international financial system." SWIFT connects over 11,000 banks and financial institutions in 200 countries and has always claimed to be politically neutral. The company does not hold or manage customer assets but enables secure money transfers by sending messages between banks. Before the announcement of SWIFT's new decision regarding Iranian banks, several U.S. officials reported on internal conflicts within the Trump administration over the issue of Iran's continued access to the SWIFT banking system. According to that report, concerns from a group of U.S. lawmakers even led them to focus on a proposal being prepared by Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas. According to this proposal, if SWIFT does not cut off Iran's access to its system, the U.S. government would be required to impose sanctions on SWIFT members, including some American banks. The Washington Post was the first to report on the internal conflict within the Trump administration regarding Iran's access to SWIFT, stating that Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, was trying to maintain Iran's interaction with SWIFT to prevent the "undergrounding" of Iran's banking transactions.