Iranian Bank Account Closures Not New

The closure of Iran-related bank accounts by Emirate banks has been going on for years and no new regulation has been communicated in this regard, the head of Information Technology Department at Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture said.

“The accounts are not frozen, rather the bank closes them and returns the entire amount of money to its owner,” Mohammad Reza Talaei was also quoted as saying by Banker.ir.

The official said that if an account is transparent and did not have any transaction with Iran, there would be no problem for them.

“If Emirati banks close Iranian accounts en masse, that would mean every Iranian business owner must leave the UAE, which is impossible due to the fact that Iranians are major investors in the country,” he added.

Talaei noted that there has always been restrictions on Iranians in Arab countries, such that when Iranians apply for registering a company, they face a lot of red tape.

Mohsen Haji-Baba, a member of the ICCIMA board of representative, also said Iranian bank account closure in Arab states started 10 years ago and intensified during the tenure of former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and is in no way related to Iran’s nuclear accord.

“Arab countries have increased hurdles in the wake of the region’s political issues while European countries also refuse to interact with Iran out of fear of US penalties since Donald Trump took office,” he added.

A number of media reports recently suggested that Iranian bank accounts are being closed in a handful of regional countries due to reasons ranging from strained ties with Persian Gulf Arab states to Turkish foreign exchange policies.