USA / UNITED KINGDOM: U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday names Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and banned all transactions between it and U.S. businesses

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday (January 9) named Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah as a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and banned all transactions between it and U.S. businesses. "The Treasury today is designating Bank Sepah, the fifth largest Iranian state-owned bank, as a supporter of WMD proliferation. In particular, Sepah provides direct and extensive financial services to Iranian entities responsible for developing missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. In addition to prohibiting transactions with Bank Sepah, a major commercial Iranian bank, the Treasury said any assets that it may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. Treasury identified Groups and Organizations through which it said, Bank Sepah has played a role in advancing Iran's ballistic missile programs, including Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG), the Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG) and Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO). "Bank Sepah has been a key provider of financial services to the Shahid Hemmat Industries Group (SHIG) and the Shahid Bakeri Industries Group (SBIG), two Iranian missile firms listed in the annex to the Resolution 1737 for their direct role in advancing Iran's ballistic missile programs. Bank Sepah also provides financial services to SHIG's and SBIG's parent entity, Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), which has been designated as a proliferator by the United States for its role in overseeing all of Iran's missile industries," the Under Secretary said. Treasury also said the bank has facilitated business between AIO and North Korea's chief ballistic missile-related exporter, KOMID. "The financial relationship between Iran and North Korea, as represented by the business handled by Bank Sepah, is of great concern to the United States," said Levey. Bank Sepha has branches in a number of European nations. Levey said the United States was urging other nations to join in the bid "to deny financial assistance to Iran's nuclear and missile programs" as supported by a recently passed United Nations Security Council resolution. "Our action today applies to all branches of Bank Sepah, including those in Paris, Rome, and Frankfurt, its wholly-owned subsidiary in London, and the Bank's chairman and director, as well as its more than 290 branches based in Iran. The United States urges all governments to comply with their obligations under Resolution 1737 by taking appropriate action against all entities involved in Iran's nuclear or missile programs." In addition to Bank Sepah, the Treasury order names Sepah International Plc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank Sepah in Britain and the bank's chairman and director, Ahmad Derakhshandeh, as weapons proliferators. The U.S. action was taken under an executive order by President George W. Bush signed in June 2005 and reflects the administration's determination to use U.S. legal authority to pressure Iran to abandon its nuclear program, something Tehran has repeatedly insisted it will not do. Levey said there was a growing movement by global financial institutions to scale back their dealings with Iran. He said they were doing it on their own because "they did not wish to be the banker for a regime that funds terrorism, defies the U.N. Security Council in pursuing a nuclear program and deliberately conceals the nature of its business." In September, Levey announced measures to cut off one of Iran's main state-owned banks, Saderat, from dealings with the U.S. financial system, accusing the Iranian government of using the bank to transfer money to terrorist organizations. aw/jrc

ITN Source | January 10, 2007

Tags:. .wish. .banned. .identified. .council. .particular