Iran's Central Bank's relationship with SWIFT financial network severed
A senior US financial intelligence official has told reporters that the US is not concerned about Europe's efforts to find a solution for financial transactions with Iran. Now, news is coming that the central bank's relationship with SWIFT has been severed.
Sigal Mandelker, the senior official for financial intelligence at the US Treasury Department, has officially announced that the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been removed from the SWIFT international financial network.
On Monday, November 12, Reuters news agency, in a report sent from London, mentioned Sigal Mandelker's remarks about cutting Iran's financial ties with the SWIFT network.
Mandelker has said that the European Union's proposed solution to maintain the possibility of trading with Iran does not concern the US government.
This senior US Treasury official said that given the withdrawal of most European companies operating in Iran and the cessation of economic cooperation between these companies and the country, the solution envisaged by the European Union will not solve the problem.
According to Mandelker, in the current situation, the US government is intent on using other means to exert more pressure on the Iranian government.
In response to reporters' question about the US's next step against Iran, Segal Mandelker said: "Regarding Iran, you will see much more action from us."
Severing ties with Swift
The news of the Central Bank of Iran's severing of ties with the international SWIFT network follows news previously announced by US Treasury officials.
On Thursday, November 9, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the imminent termination of SWIFT's provision of banking services to the Central Bank of Iran and other financial systems in the country.
Mnuchin announced the news in a Twitter post. Segal Mandelker's remarks today are, in effect, the announcement of the implementation of this policy.
It is worth noting that during the previous round of sanctions on Iran, between 2012 and 2015, a number of Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic, were removed from the SWIFT network.
Source: DW
