February 21, 2012 | Quote
Swift Says Ready to Implement Sanctions on Iran Institutions
Iran would be the first country to be cut off by Swift, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group, who has advised the Obama administration and congressional offices on SWIFT and other sanctions measures.
“If strictly implemented, this could deny Iran’s banks the ability to move billions of dollars in financial transactions, and put immense pressure on Iran’s leaders to reconsider their policies,” he said. “The international sanctions on the Iranian regime are the last remaining hope of bringing a peaceful end to its unlawful nuclear pursuits, terrorist activities, and human rights abuses” …
Dubowitz said it will be important to see how Swift treats the central bank of Iran, which handles much of the country’s receipts from oil exports. Iran is the second-largest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.
“Will it expel the CBI along with other European- sanctioned banks?” he said. “Or will it quarantine its transactions so that the CBI will be limited only to humanitarian-related trade and to specific oil market transactions with international financial institutions that conform to U.S. law?.”