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‘Unfathomable’: Iain Duncan Smith
Iran’s state-backed banks should be sanctioned by Britain so they cannot be used to funnel money to terror groups, a former Conservative Party leader has said.
Iain Duncan Smith said it was “unfathomable” that two major Iranian lenders, Melli Bank and Bank Saderat, still had branches in London despite accusations from US security officials that they have been used to give cash to terrorists.
He told The Mail on Sunday that since both banks are owned by the Iranian government, they are by extension linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The IRGC is a branch of the country’s armed forces whose members support Iran’s overseas allies, including the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
The US has banned the IRGC as a terrorist organization. But Britain has not yet done so, despite repeated pleas from MPs and colleagues in Parliament.
Duncan Smith said: ‘Our policy is quite ridiculous. You have Iranian banks operating with impunity in Britain – one of the most important financial centers in the world – alongside the IRGC.”
Last month he wrote to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary James Cleverly asking what steps had been taken to “investigate British-based Iranian financial institutions”, including Saderat and Melli.
The British branch of Melli Bank is located on Kensington High Street, in one of London’s most chic areas. Bank Saderat’s offices are located in the city, just behind the Bank of England. The presence of Iranian banks in Britain follows allegations in February that some of Britain’s largest financial institutions had been used by the Islamic theocracy in a vast plot to circumvent US sanctions.
Lloyds, HSBC and Standard Chartered are among those allegedly providing banking services to front companies linked to the Iranian regime.
Duncan Smith and other MPs are pushing for Britain to align more closely with the US and impose sanctions on both banks.
Veteran Labor MP Margaret Hodge, an anti-corruption campaigner, said earlier this month that it was “completely merciful” that Iranian banks and the IRGC were allowed to operate in Britain.
A State Department spokesperson said rules were recently introduced “that give us new and expanded sanctions powers to counter Iran’s hostile and destabilizing activities.”