Iran and Russia have connected their interbank communication and transfer systems to help boost trade and financial transactions, a senior Iranian official said on Monday, as both Tehran and Moscow are chafing under Western sanctions.
Since the 2018 re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran after Washington ditched Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the Islamic Republic has been disconnected from the Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service, which is a key international banking access point.
Similar limitations have been slapped on some Russian banks since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
“Iranian banks no longer need to use SWIFT … with Russian banks, which can be for the opening of Letters of Credit and transfers or warranties,” Deputy Governor of Iran’s Central Bank, Mohsen Karimi, told the semi-official Fars news agency.
While Russia’s central bank declined to comment on the deal signed on Sunday, Mr Karimi said, “About 700 Russian banks and 106 non-Russian banks from 13 different countries will be connected to this system”, without elaborating on the names of the foreign banks.
Source » dawn