US sanctions Cuban, Iraqi banks over ties to Iran

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on a Cuban state-owned bank and an Iraqi bank, accusing both of helping Iran access the global financial system.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Cuba’s Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A., known as BICSA, saying it has provided services since at least 2022 to Iran’s Karafarin Bank.

The US sanctioned Karafarin in 2020.

Separately, the Treasury Department designated Iraq’s International Development Bank for Investment and Finance, accusing it of facilitating transactions for Iran and giving it access to US dollars.

Treasury also targeted two Iranian banks operating in free trade zones.

The actions are part of Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced in August to cut off the revenue Iran’s government relies on.

Rubio said Cuba has long been allowed to operate as an outpost for “malign actors and terror groups,” including Iran.

The administration, he said, will not tolerate a hostile foreign presence less than 100 miles from US shores.

The designation freezes any BICSA assets under US jurisdiction.

Secondary sanctions

Foreign banks and companies that deal with it risk secondary sanctions. The State Department did not say what services BICSA provided to Karafarin.

BICSA is the third major Cuban bank the US has targeted this year.

The administration sanctioned Banco Financiero Internacional in June and Banco Exterior de Cuba in September.

The move comes as Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accuses Washington of pressuring countries to change their votes against the US embargo at the UN General Assembly on Oct. 28.