Giving in to U.S. pressure, the Foreign Ministry of Kuwait ordered the central bank to call on all banks, investment companies and money exchange agencies to start implementing enhanced restriction on trade with Iran, taking a step further than what was sanctioned by the Security Council on 9 June.

The Kuwait central bank issued a circular banning the opening of branches or representative offices for Iranian banks in Kuwait and forbidding Kuwaiti banks and financial operators to open offices or accounts in Iran.
The order from the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry comes only days after its first victims among the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council business community turned to their sovereigns for help.
On Monday businessmen from the UAE met with deputy governor Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid al-Maktoum in Dubai asking the government to intervene and to ease the restrictions, already imposed on their trade with Iran. 
The businessmen complained about the restrictions imposed by banks in terms of opening letters of credit and finance, necessary to continue import and export operations with the foodstuff, medicine, building materials and auto spare parts their businesses are relying upon.
The businessmen asked the UAE authorities to find a viable mechanism to steer clear of restrictions hitting sectors far away from the military or nuclear industry field the UNSC vote on 9 June intended to target.
Iran is traditionally one of the UAE's closest trading partners, with some 400 thousand Iranian citizens living and working in the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf.
The economic warfare against Iran had already brought down bilateral trade between the UAE and Iran from 12 billion dollars in 2008 to only 8 billion in 2009, but now, after a fourth round of sanctions in 2010, trade is expected to come down to 6 billion, with a much steeper decline to be expected, if the PGCC governments decide to abide with U.S. requests to slap restrictions on literally all trade with the neighbor country.
(Source: Arab Monitor)
CAPTION: Iran is traditionally one of the UAE's closest trading partners, with some 400 thousand Iranian citizens living and working in the Persian Gulf state. (Photo: AP)