The Obama administration on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran's third largest bank, making it harder for Tehran to access the world's financial system and fund its nuclear activities. Iran's Bank Tejarat, and an affiliate Belarus-based Trade Capital Bank, were blacklisted for providing financial services to other entities already sanctioned for their involvement with the country's nuclear weapons program, the US said.
"Today's sanction against Bank Tejarat will deepen Iran's financial isolation, make its access to hard currency even more tenuous, and further impair Iran's ability to finance its illicit nuclear program," Treasury under-secretary for terror finance David Cohen said in a statement.
Bank Tejarat, which has nearly 2,000 branches in Iran and branches in France and Tajikistan, along with Trade Capital Bank will no longer be able to access the US financial system. Washington also accused the banks of indirectly supporting the activities of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp. Washington and the European Union have ratcheted up the pressure on Iran, sanctioning its central bank which acts as a clearinghouse for the country's oil revenue. Twenty-three Iranian-linked firms have been sanctioned by the United States.