By Rachelle Younglai and Roberta RamptonWASHINGTON (Reuters) -
The United States is pressuring the European Union and a global
electronic banking system to expel Iranian banks from a network used to
transfer money, another step in Western efforts to deprive Tehran of
funds needed to develop nuclear weapons.
Kicking Iranian banks out of the Belgium-based SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, would cut off one of the only remaining avenues for Iran to transact business with the rest of the world.
European banking regulators may meet with SWIFT's board as early as Thursday to discuss expelling designated Iranian bank users, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
SWIFT facilitates the bulk of the world's cross-border payments, exchanging 18 million payment messages per day between banks and other financial institutions in 210 countries.
Kicking Iranian banks out of the Belgium-based SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, would cut off one of the only remaining avenues for Iran to transact business with the rest of the world.
European banking regulators may meet with SWIFT's board as early as Thursday to discuss expelling designated Iranian bank users, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
SWIFT facilitates the bulk of the world's cross-border payments, exchanging 18 million payment messages per day between banks and other financial institutions in 210 countries.
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