U.S. sanction on Iranian bank ‘media hype’
May 19, 2011 - 0:0
TEHRAN – Iran’s Economy and Finance Minister Shamseddin Hosseini said that the U.S. move to impose sanctions on Iran’s Bank of Industry and Mine is part of Washington's propaganda against Tehran.
“The Americans say something and try to exaggerate it through media hype,” Hosseini added.“What the Americans say in this regard is a psychological (campaign), and the media should not pay attention to it,” Hosseini told IRNA on Wednesday, Press TV reported.
The U.S. Treasury Department froze on Tuesday the assets of Iran's Bank of Industry and Mine for allegedly providing financial services to two other financial institutions, which are already under sanctions for their connections with Iran's nuclear program.
The U.S. Treasury Department in its statement accused Iran Bank of Industry and Mine ""to evade U.S. and international sanctions against Iranian financial institutions involved in facilitating transactions in support of Iran's proliferation activities.""
The statement indirectly confessed to ineffectiveness of recent U.S. sanctions against Iranian banks. U.S. and EU stepped up some illegal sanctions against Iranian bank in last year which were ultra than the framework of UNSC acts.
The Treasury accused BIM of providing financial services to Bank Mellat and Europaisch Iranische Handelsbank (EIH), two Iranian banks it had previously designated in connection with Iran's nuclear program.
""Iran has a well-established practice of migrating illicit financial activities from one bank to another to facilitate transactions for sanctioned banks,"" claimed David Cohen, the Treasury's acting under secretary