Now, US wants to cut off Iran from global banking system

Washington, Nov 9: In a bid to isolate Iran more, the US is planning to cut off its central bank from the global financial system. US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Thursday, November 8, that the financial messaging service that moves money around the world will snap ties with Iran's Central Bank.

In a tweet, Mnuchin said: "I understand that SWIFT will be discontinuing service to the Central Bank of Iran and designated Iranian financial institutions," adding that SWIFT made the right decision to protect the international financial system. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication that provides a network that enables financial bodies across the globe to send and receive information about financial transactions safely.

According to experts, the decision to cut off Iran's Central Bank from the international banking procedure will see the country suffering economically, the CNN reported. The US has adopted a harsh stand on Iran, penalising its economy through sanctions and boycott as it suspects the country of backing activities that could destabilise the region. The US has also put pressure on other countries to not buy oil from Iran, a significant producer, though of late it has exempted a few countries which according to Washington, is more a calculated step to stop oil prices shoot up north than a softening of stand on Tehran.

In May, President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran which was reached during the time of his predecessor Barack Obama.

A day before Mnuchin's observation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told BBC Persian that the Iranian leadership would have to take a decision on whether it wants its own people to eat. He said Tehran would have to decide whether it wants to use its wealth to import medicine or to help "destabilising activities".