The US sanctions a Turkish bank with ties to Iran

The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on a bank in Turkey, which it has described as a vital financial line for Iran.

As stated on the OFAC website, the Istanbul-based bank, Golden Global Bank, has been sanctioned, which, according to American information, has transferred large sums of money paid by China for Iranian oil, channeling the proceeds to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The sanctions against a financial institution in a NATO ally mark an escalation of the operation led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which aims to inflict such great economic damage on Iran that, as the White House has stated, the Iranians will accept a deal or face economic collapse.

"Financial institutions are learning the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast. While we hope it will never be necessary to sanction another bank, it ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and stops supporting the murderous Iranian regime," Bessent said Friday regarding the action, media reports.

He also stressed that US authorities are following all actions taken by institutions around the world to support Iran.

"We know who you are, we know where you are, and we will continue to act together with our allies and partners until we bury the head of the Iranian snake," the US secretary of state declared.

Golden Global Bank, founded in 2019, is introduced as the first investment bank in Turkey that conducts all its activities in accordance with the principles of interest-free financing.

According to data from financial information website TheBanks.EU, the bank is the 35th largest in Turkey and has a market share of less than one-tenth of a percent. Golden Global controls assets worth about $517 million.

Although Golden Global presents itself as a professional company, the Treasury Department has determined that the bank was created as part of a dubious Iranian exchange network called "rahbar," made up of front organizations that "transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where they can then be converted into cash and gold," the document explaining the measures taken states.

The Treasury Department stated that the bank and its branches “facilitated transactions worth tens of millions of dollars for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and provided the Iranian regime with essential access to correspondent banking services, enabling it to transfer funds internationally.” /Telegraph