Treasury cuts Iran bank's link to U.S.
The Bush administration, stepping up pressure on Tehran, moved yesterday to sever a big Iranian state-owned bank from the U.S. financial system.
Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the government's action was taken against Bank Saderat, which the United States contends is used by Iran to transfer money to terrorist groups, including Hezbollah.
While Iranian financial institutions are barred from directly accessing the U.S. financial system, they are permitted to do so indirectly through banks in other countries. The U.S. is closing off that avenue for Bank Saderat. The action, which involved a change in regulations, doesn't apply to other Iranian banks, another Treasury official said.
It marked the first time Treasury had resorted to a regulatory change of this kind to sever a bank, the official said.
Sounds serious and it is step in the right direction though its effects maybe limited. Ealier this year, Syria and Iran did a monetary tango - Syria by switching its foreign currency to the euro and Iran by transfering its assests from the West to the East; most likely China - the wild card in all this geo-political stare down.
