Iran’s Banking Relations with World Reviving Seamlessly: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said more and more foreign banks are beginning to resume ties with Iran following the termination of sanctions under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
Anti-Iran sanctions have been shattered, and relations between Iranian and international banks are being revitalized, the president said on Tuesday in an address to a gathering of people in the city of Semnan, 220 km east of Tehran.
“Today, obstacles have been removed,” he noted, but made it clear that “any destruction needs time” to be rectified, arguing that the inflow of investment from abroad requires some time.
Rouhani reminded critics of the JCPOA that the accord came into force only 3 months ago, not 30 years ago.
The first agreement signed with every foreign delegation that visits Iran in the post-sanctions era has been a banking deal, he further stated.
His comments come against the backdrop of criticism in the country that the JCPOA has not led to any major breakthrough in Iran’s financial transactions with the foreign banks and companies.
Earlier this month, Chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi, himself a top businessman, pointed to persistent obstacles in the way of Iran’s monetary transactions with the world despite international enthusiasm for investment in Iran.
And in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in the US on April 15, Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Chief Valiollah Seif said “almost nothing” has happened for facilitating Iran’s financial transactions, criticizing Washington for failing to fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA.
“In general, we are not able to use our frozen funds abroad,” Seif said, calling for more “serious efforts” by the US government to fulfill its commitments to help Iran re-enter the global financial system.
In the meantime, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who has travelled to New York to attend a UN debate on Sustainable Development Goals, said Monday that he would urge the US to “seriously” live up to its side of the deal and stop interfering in Iran’s banking and financial ties with other states.
