Bank Saderat Iran's License in Lebanon Revoked

Amid rising US pressure on countries to cut trade ties with Tehran, Lebanon's central bank this week revoked the operating license of Bank Saderat Iran, one of Iran's largest banks, within Lebanon.

At the same time as the US increased pressure on countries to cut off trade relations with Tehran, the Central Bank of Lebanon canceled the domestic activity license of Bank Saderat Iran, which is one of the largest Iranian banks, this week.

Karim Saeed, head of the Central Bank of Lebanon, announced that the purpose of this action is to send a clear message to the world about Beirut's determination to protect the country's banking sector from any party that may impose the risk of contagion of financial crises.

He added that Beirut's action was carried out following the tightening of restrictions against Iran's financial system by other central banks in the region, including the Central Bank of the Emirates and the Central Bank of Turkey, and at the same time as the increasing global pressure of the United States against Tehran.

Saeed said on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Bangkok: We saw that bigger and more powerful economies, such as the UAE and Turkey, complied with such requests in order to maintain the connection of their banks with the international financial system.

He added: Lebanon cannot accept such risks.

The head of the Central Bank of Lebanon also stated: Sometimes we have to make decisions that are politically sensitive because we want to protect the country's banking sector from any sanctions or foreign pressure.

He also emphasized the necessity of cleaning the Lebanese economy from all illegitimate and illegal financial sources and income from money laundering.