Lebanon’s central bank has this week canceled the local license of Bank Saderat Iran, one of Iran's largest banks, as the United States steps up pressure on countries to sever commercial ties with Tehran.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Central Bank Governor Karim Souaid stated that the move aims to "send a clear signal to the outside world that we are determined to protect our banking sector from any entity that might expose it to the risk of contamination."
The Lebanese step follows tighter restrictions imposed by other regional central banks on Iran's financial system and coincides with mounting global pressure from the United States, according to the governor.
Bank Saderat Iran is one of the oldest commercial banks in Iran, with several branches abroad. However, it did not operate as a full-scale commercial bank serving the general public in Lebanon or offer retail banking services in the manner typical of major Lebanese banks. Its operations were restricted to a very narrow and specific scope, namely facilitating certain transfers and financial activities linked to specific networks or entities.
Given the sanctions tied to Iranian institutions, the bank was effectively isolated from major international correspondent banking networks (such as SWIFT) and global payment systems.