Some European financial firms agreed to US President Donald Trump's sanctions on Iran. Belgium-based SWIFT, whose messaging service links more than 11,000 financial institutions as funds around the world move, said it had split from Iranian banks after the United States announced sanctions on 50 financial firms in the country on Monday.
"Some Iranian banks have suspended their services as unfortunate," she said, but said it had been done to maintain the stability and integrity of the global financial system.
The Trump administration announced in May it would withdraw from Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement and re-impose sanctions in a bid to secure a new deal with the Iranian government. But the European Union was the biggest exposed to this decision and worked to maintain the 2015 agreement and economic relations with Iran and the rest of the world. But it seems that companies have been subjected to Trump sanctions.
Large international banks have been particularly wary of doing business in Iran. In the past decade, the United States has hit many bank giants with strict penalties for helping customers avoid US sanctions against Iran.
Because US banks cannot do business with Iran, and major European banks have chosen to stay away from the country, Iranian banks have already cut off most of the global financial system before Swift's decision
