Claims it “finances terrorism” and sanctions two other banks, a company, and three individuals in Iran
The Israeli government declared Iran’s Central Bank a “terrorist organization” on Wednesday for its alleged role in “financing terrorism,” one day after a ceasefire agreement went into effect following 12 days of conflict sparked by the Israeli army’s June 13 offensive against the Central Asian country.
“The Central Bank of Iran is not a financial institution, but a conduit that channels billions (of dollars) to murderous terrorism,” said Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, who argued that this measure involves “striking the ayatollahs’ regime where it hurts the most, as it finances terrorist activities by Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq, and Hamas through the Revolutionary Guard.”
Thus, he maintained that “no element of the regime that participates in terrorist activities has immunity” and added that “the State of Israel will continue to use all its military, economic, and intelligence power to expose, strike, and crush the Iranian axis of evil, wherever it operates,” according to a statement released by his office.
Katz’s decision also affects two other Iranian banks, a company allegedly linked to the Iranian Armed Forces, and three senior officials, a measure adopted at the request of the Mossad and on the recommendation of the National Counterterrorism Office of the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
The other two affected banks are Bank Shahr and Bank Mellat, which Israel accuses of “assisting in the financing and transfer of funds for the Revolutionary Guard and subordinate entities,” while the sanctioned company is Saffar Energy Jahan Company, “belonging to the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and used to manage the sale of oil to finance the Revolutionary Guard.”
Finally, those sanctioned are Mayid Azami, a senior official in Iran’s Ministry of Oil; Yamshid Eshaqi, a director of Saffar Energy Jahan Company; and Elias Niromand Tomaje, also a senior official at the company. Iranian authorities have not yet responded to this decision by the Israeli government.
