Kerry tells banks business with Iran OK
Kerry in a meeting with key bank owners in London said the companies that want to do business with Iran should not be affected by what he described as "misinterpretations or mere rumors" about US sanctions on Iran.
"We want to make it clear that legitimate business, which is clear under the definition of the agreement, is available to banks," AP has quoted Kerry as telling reporters after the meeting in which HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and BNP Paribas have been named as key participants.
"As long as they do their normal due diligence and know who they're dealing with, they're not going to be held to some undefined and inappropriate standard here."
The US top diplomat, who had earlier said businesses were using the US as an "excuse" not to do business with Iran, added that some companies are still uninterested in doing business with Iran for a series of issues, including the country's antiquated financial system.
"In some cases, there has been a reluctance in some places to take risk — or what they think is a risk," Kerry said.
AP added that US officials have been fanning out across the globe in recent weeks to address Iran's complaints that it hasn't received the sanctions relief it was promised in exchange for slowing down its nuclear program as per an agreement with the P5+1 that came into effect this January.
Even though a series of economic sanctions were lifted against Iran in line with the agreement, the US still maintains a prohibition on Iran to access the American financial system or to directly conduct transactions in US dollars, fueling confusion and practical impediments given that international transactions routinely cross through the US banking system.
European and Asian governments and companies, primarily banks, have sought written clarification about what current US laws and financial regulations allow. Essentially, they want a promise that the US will not prosecute or punish them for transactions involving Iran — a step the US has so far been reluctant to take, AP added.
Meanwhile, Kerry’s British counterpart Philip Hammond said the goal was to bridge the disconnect between the political intentions of the countries that negotiated the nuclear deal and the "banking world reality."
He said if world powers are to ensure their objective of normalizing relations with Iran and ending its global isolation, they must succeed in persuading banks that it's safe to invest in the Islamic Republic.
"Essentially, it's the first hurdle in the race," AP has further quoted Hammond as saying. "If we fall at this one, then we'll never get the chance to demonstrate all the other benefits that can flow from this agreement that we spent so much time and energy delivering last year."
