End Times and Current Events

General Category => Middle East => Topic started by: Psalm 51:17 on November 22, 2011, 08:36:30 pm



Title: UK orders banks to halt Iran business
Post by: Psalm 51:17 on November 22, 2011, 08:36:30 pm
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4151368,00.html

UK orders banks to halt Iran business

Britain orders financial institutions to freeze transaction with Iranian counterparts; US expected to follow suit

Britain ordered its financial institutions on Monday to halt all business with Iranian counterparts, including the central bank, and the United States is also expected to tighten sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program.

The British move however will not target trade in Iranian oil, a source familiar with the sanctions said. It also appeared unlikely that the US Treasury would try to cut off the Iranian banking system entirely, a move that could disrupt global energy markets and harm the US economic recovery.

Britain said the sanctions were in response to the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) latest report on Iran, which highlighted fresh concerns about possible military dimensions of Tehran's nuclear program.

"We believe that the Iranian regime's actions pose a significant threat to the UK's national security and the international community. Today's announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons," said British finance minister George Osborne.

In Washington, a US official said the Treasury Department planned to designate Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern" on Monday, a move allowing it to take steps to isolate the Iranian financial sector further.

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