Turkey revokes licence of Iran's Bank Mellat as US sanctions intensify

Turkey has revoked the operating licence of Iran's Bank Mellat, which remains on the US Treasury’s sanctions list, amid intensifying US sanctions on Tehran. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency's decision to withdraw the bank's main Istanbul branch's licence after 44 years was not directly tied to the US sanctions, according to Middle East Eye.

The agency pointed to a provision allowing a licence to be withdrawn if continued operations pose a risk to depositors' rights or the stability of the financial system. The US designated Bank Mellat in 2018, alleging that it provided financial support to Mehr Eqtesad Bank, which the US links to Iran's Basij militia.

Brief written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.