SWIFT said in a statement yesterday it would disconnect Iranian financial institutions affected by the sanctions from its messaging system on Saturday at 1600 GMT.
Overseas Iranian businessmen said the move might strangle their operations. One said he had been expecting SWIFT to act in a few months, and was surprised at the news.
“It will make life even more difficult for us than before, because this is like our lifeline to the outside being cut,” Naser Shaker, who owns an oil and gas trading company in Dubai, told Reuters by phone. “All the transactions will be stopped. Through the banks, there are no more options.”
Another forecast the collapse of businesses dealing with Iran. “If Iranian banks cannot exchange payments with banks around the world then this will cause the collapse of many banking relations and many businesses,” said Morteza Masoumzadeh, a member of the executive committee of the Iranian Business Council in Dubai and managing director of the Jumbo Line Shipping Agency.
“This is devastating news for our businesses, but what can I do? Do we have any options?” The announcements coincided with news that major money exchange houses in the UAE have stopped handling Iranian rials over the last few weeks.
Expelling Iranian banks from SWIFT will shut down a major avenue through which Tehran does business with the rest of the world. That, the West hopes, will pressure Iran into curbing its nuclear activities.
SWIFT blow to Iran trade
Publication Date:
Fri, 2012-03-16 00:35
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