Source:
RFE/RL
BAGHDAD
-- Iraqi authorities say they are investigating whether two Iranian commercial
banks that want to do business in Iraq are covered by UN Security Council
sanctions, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq reports.
Mudhhir Muhammad Salih, a member of the Iraqi Central Bank's advisory panel,
told RFE/RL that the bank has approached the Foreign Ministry and the cabinet to
check if the latest round of UN sanctions against Iran also target Iran's
Karafarin and Parsian banks, as the two have applied for licenses to open
branches in Iraq.
Salih said allowing the two Iranian financial institutions to set up shop in
Iraq was out of the question without official approval from the government. He
added that the Central Bank's board of directors, which grants banking licenses,
is still waiting for clear-cut instructions in this regard.
The UN Security Council in June imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over
its disputed nuclear program.
The resolution says countries should prohibit in their territories the opening
of new branches, subsidiaries, or representative offices of Iranian banks if
they believe such financial activities could contribute to Iran's
proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear
weapon-delivery systems.
Fadhil Muhammad Jawad, a legal adviser to the government, told RFE/RL that if
verification showed the two Iranian banks in question were covered by the UN
sanctions, "Iraq will of course comply."
Osama Murtadha, a professor of international relations at Baghdad's Mustansiriya
University, says that even if the two Iranian banks are denied a license, trade
relations between Iraq and Iran are too extensive to be affected.
The Iraqi Central Bank announced this month that it was talking with seven
foreign banks interested in doing business in Iraq, including some from Iran and
Lebanon.
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