S.Korea to suspend Iranian bank as part of sanctions

AFP: South Korea will suspend the operations of an Iranian bank for two months, financial regulators said Thursday, as part of international sanctions over Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme.

SEOUL (AFP) — South Korea will suspend the operations of an Iranian bank for two months, financial regulators said Thursday, as part of international sanctions over Tehran’s suspected nuclear weapons programme.

The Seoul branch of Bank Mellat will be suspended from October 11 for violating laws on foreign exchange transactions, the Financial Services Commission said.

“Its operations in Seoul will remain virtually paralysed as most of its business is related to foreign exchange transactions,” a commission official told AFP.

Bank Mellat is one of Iran’s biggest lenders and its Seoul branch is its only operation outside the Middle East and Europe.