Foreign banks doing business with Iran face US sanctions without warning

• Treasury warns of action against banks aiding Iran’s financial access.
• Banks could face restrictions on US dollar-linked accounts.
• US warns of penalties over Iran-related transactions.

WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday warned foreign financial institutions that continue doing business with Iran or its financial sector that they could face sanctions without advance notice.

The US Treasury Department said foreign banks continuing to transact with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions “could be targeted at any time without advance notification” and urged them to immediately terminate such activities and relationships.

The warning is part of Washington’s wider effort to cut Iran’s access to the global financial system amid the ongoing war. The United States has in recent weeks stepped up pressure on countries and institutions maintaining business ties with Tehran, warning they could face secondary sanctions.

The Treasury said foreign financial institutions could face sanctions for facilitating Iran’s access to the global financial system, including by providing financial services to Iranian banks, their subsidiaries or branches in third countries.

They could also face civil and criminal enforcement penalties if Iran-related transactions cause US financial institutions or other US persons to violate American sanctions.

Treasury warned that strict conditions could include prohibiting foreign financial institutions from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States.

Washington has also targeted networks it says help Tehran evade sanctions. Last week, the Treasury sanctioned a Russia-linked shadow banking network used by Iran to circumvent financial restrictions and warned that entities facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion risk being cut off from the US financial system.

The US Treasury has separately imposed sanctions on Iranian military procurement networks and other sectors as part of its broader campaign to restrict Tehran’s access to financial resources.