J.P. Morgan and Citibank - top American financial institutions that sit on the board of the SWIFT financial network, which facilitates international banking transactions - declined the Washington Free Beacon inquiries into whether they intend to disconnect Iran from the network and comply with the Trump administration's sanctions, the American journalism website reported on Friday.
Both banks could play a pivotal role in ensuring SWIFT and its members obey the new sanctions, the report added.
Congressional efforts to ensure US banks and others disconnect Iran from SWIFT also have been met with muted reaction, according to the report.
A delegation of 16 Republican lawmakers on Thursday called on SWIFT to immediately disconnect Iranian access or face the brunt of new US sanctions imposed on Iran after Donald Trump's unilateral and unlawful withdrawal from the landmark nuclear deal dubbed JCPOA.
Meanwhile, the European Union, in a move to save the 2015 nuclear deal after US pullout by ensuring Iran’s economic interests, adopted a first package of €18 million for projects in support of sustainable economic and social development in Iran, including €8 million assistance to the private sector.
Iranian Foreign Minister Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said Friday that the EU's €18 million package is different from the package of measures promised by the bloc to counter US sanctions on Tehran.
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