Continuing U.S. efforts to increase economic pressure on the Islamic Republic, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates announced that Iran’s Bank Melli branches in this country are no longer allowed to operate. UAE officials cited the Bank Melli’s violation of regulations related to the ban on transferring money to Iran as the reason for this decision.

At the same time, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), in its latest assessment report on Turkey, said that investigations aimed at identifying schemes to bypass the sanctions of the Islamic Republic and preventing misuse of this country’s financial system have led to the identification of suspicious activities at 139 companies.

Interview with Jonathan Sayegh, Middle East affairs analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies