Foreign banks and financial institutions are still hesitant to engage business with Iran and fear the US. Sledgehammer. Despite the recent declaration of U.S Energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, that sanction lifting have nothing to do with the banking rigidity, Mr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) repeated during the General conference at IAEA that Iran already implemented the constraints on its nuclear activities but several sanctions are still in place and are sabotaging the deal.
The Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mr. Yukiya Amano also confirmed Iran’s commitment to its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
For reference, U.S. penalties under the previous sanctions regime included the record $9 billion fine that BNP Paribas SA agreed to pay in 2014 in part for dealings with Iran. France’s Societe Generale SA, Germany’s Deutsche Bank AG, Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG, ING Groep NV in the Netherlands and the U.K.’s Standard Chartered Plc are among the big European banks that have said they’re generally not prepared to do business in Iran yet. Only Belgium’s KBC, Germany’s DZ Bank and soon Austria’s Erste Bank started handling transactions on behalf of European clients doing business in Iran.
But on September 29, the Obama administration, under the nuclear deal reached in July 2015*, agreed to lift Treasury Department sanctions on Bank Sepah. Bank Sepah (and Bank Sepah International) is critical to the Iran’s economy and international trade.
*On 14th July 2015 Iran signed the nuclear agreement with five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, U.S.A, Britain, France, Russia, and China-plus Germany (P5+1), known as JCPOA. Under the deal Iran has agreed to put limitations on its nuclear activities and in response members of P5+1 agreed to terminate all nuclear related sanctions from Iran.
