Iran warns U.S. sanctions against its banks will weaken dollar

Iran Focus: a pro-MEK website

Iran warned the United States that it risked isolating the dollar from Iranian markets by imposing strict sanctions against Iranian banks.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced earlier this month that it had blacklisted Iran’s Bank Saderat because of its “support for terrorism”.

“Bank Saderat facilitates Iran's transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations each year. We will no longer allow a bank like Saderat to do business in the American financial system, even indirectly”, said Stuart Levey, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). READ MORE

While in Singapore to attend the annual gathering of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the head of Iran’s central bank Ibrahim Sheibani told reporters on Saturday that U.S. sanctions against Iranian banks could distance the Islamic Republic from the dollar, adding that other states may follow Iran’s example.

Bank Saderat is one of the largest Iranian-owned banks, with roughly 3400 branch offices.