SWIFT will disconnect some Iranian banks this weekend

The global financial messaging service provider SWIFT will be disconnecting some Iranian banks this weekend, Reuters reported on Friday citing SWIFT chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt.

On Monday, SWIFT stated that it would be suspending some unspecified Iranian banks’ access to its messaging system in the interest of the stability and integrity of the global financial system. SWIFT did not mention US sanctions coming back into effect on some Iranian financial institutions.

On November 2, US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin announced that Washington may impose sanctions against SWIFT in connection with Iran. According to him, the banking system was informed about the need to disconnect any Iranian financial institutions that would come under US sanctions. However, Mnuchin noted that an exception will be made for financial transactions of a humanitarian nature involving non-sanctioned legal entities.

SWIFT is the international interbank system of information transmission and payments. Over 11,000 financial institutions of more than 200 countries of the world are connected to it. The possibility of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT is discussed since 2014, when first anti-Russian sanctions related to the situation in Ukraine were introduced.