By IANS,
London : Britain has severed all links with Iranian banks as part of the country’s new financial sanctions against Tehran.
Starting Monday, all of Britain’s credit and financial institutions were required to cease business relationships and transactions with all Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran, and their branches and subsidiaries, Xinhua reported.
“I have today (Monday) taken action to impose further financial restrictions against Iran,” Finance Minister George Osborne said.
“We believe that the Iranian regime’s actions pose a significant threat to Britain’s national security and the international community. Today’s announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons,” he said.
According to a statement from the British Treasury, Iranian banks played a crucial role in providing financial services to individuals and entities within Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
The development followed a recent report on Iran’s nuclear programme by the International Atomic Energy Agency that said Tehran engaged in nuclear weapons-related research activities.
Iran has dismissed the report, saying its nuclear activities were purely for peaceful purposes.