US Vows to Address Concerns of European Banks over Dealing with Iran: FM Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Washington has pledged to allay the concerns of European banks about trading with Iran following the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has given assurances that Washington will not punish the European banks engaged with Iran’s financial entities, Zarif told Japan’s Kyodo news agency on Sunday.
"The US says they encourage everybody outside the US to engage in business with Iran,” he said.
“Of course, we believe that was not sufficient, so we asked them to take further action to convince and actually remove the concerns of foreign institutions, particularly banks, about working with Iran.”
While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers- came into force in January, some Iranian officials have complained about the US failure to fully implement the accord.
Back in March, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.
Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, the Leader said at the time, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of the sanctions removal.
