Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic, in reaction to Britain’s new move to tighten restrictions against five Iranian banks, said: “We ourselves intended to impose restrictions on them in order to reduce the costs of inactive banks abroad.”

Hemmati said on Thursday, 2 Mehr 1405, in an interview with Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps: “For years, these banks have had no banking operations related to Iran due to U.S. sanctions.”

Abdolnaser Hemmati also added that the measure is an example of “trying to turn spilled oil into a vow for a shrine figure.”