CBI, US treasury, int’l banks meeting postponed

EghtesadOnline: A meeting between officials from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), the US Treasury and international banks scheduled to meet in London on Tuesday to discuss banking restrictions on trade with Iran despite a lasting nuclear deal.

News ID: ۷۶۸۰۸۹

13 July 2016

A spokeswoman for Britain’s Foreign Office said late on Tuesday that the meeting had been postponed and would be re-scheduled, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

She did not give a reason for the delay, or say when it would be held instead.

The spokeswoman said Britain wanted its banks to be able to support British companies working in Iran and was committed to working through the remaining challenges with international partners, Iran and the banks themselves.

Earlier in the day, the British foreign secretary had said that the bankers were scheduled to hold the meeting in the British capital on Tuesday.

"There is a meeting happening this afternoon ... between the Iranian Central Bank, the United States Treasury and international banks based in London in an attempt to try to make some progress on this matter," Philip Hammond said.

While the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), came into force in January, some Iranian officials complain about the US failure to fully implement the accord.

Back in March, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.

Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, the Leader said at the time, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of the sanctions removal.