US nationals can now open bank accounts in Iran

EghtesadOnline: Iran says it has been informed by Washington that US nationals can have bank accounts in the Islamic Republic.

News ID: ۷۷۴۴۲۷

07 March 2017

The announcement was made by a top official at the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), as reported by the domestic media.

Hamid Qanbari, the deputy director of the CBI for supply of foreign currencies, told a seminar in Tehran that the Islamic Republic had learned about the move through a recent announcement by the US Treasury Department.

According to ILNA, Qanbari added that the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had recently clarified that Americans residing in Iran can have bank accounts in the country.

He emphasized that this was legally binding and enjoyed the support of the US administration.

For the past decades, Iran has been subject to a series of primary sanctions imposed by the US that include tough restrictions on banking activities and the Islamic Republic’s access to the dollar.

Those restrictions were intensified as a series of bans were approved against Iran as a result of disputes over the country's nuclear energy activities.  Those bans were lifted in early 2016 after the country reached a deal with the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany.  However, US primary sanctions still remain.

To the same effect, many companies - specifically European enterprises – that are wary of US punitive measures still see Washington’s restrictions against doing business with Iran as serious obstacles.

Details of OFAC’s authorization for US citizens to have bank accounts in Iran are still not known.  Nevertheless, it is expected to be a groundbreaking development that could help facilitate business with Iran specifically if it is expanded to include companies, as well.