Turkey revokes licence of Iran's Bank Mellat

Turkey has revoked the licence of Iran's Bank Mellat, a semi-private financial entity that has been subject to Western sanctions for years, the official gazette said early Saturday.

The decision was announced some two weeks after Washington slapped sanctions on a Turkish bank over alleged ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) although it was not immediately clear whether the two issues were related.

The move follows a decision by Turkey's banking regulator over the Tehran-based bank, which provides financial support to Iran's government and is subject to US, EU and UK sanctions, according to OpenSanctions, an open-source database of information on sanctions-hit entities. The Iranian government is also the largest shareholder of the bank, it said. In revoking Bank Mellat's licence, the Turkish regulator cited article 71b of the banking law, which says the entity's "continued operation poses a threat to the rights of depositors and participation fund holders and to the security and stability of the financial system".

Bank Mellat has been subjected to Western sanctions for years over accusations Tehran was pursuing an atomic weapon under the cover of a civil nuclear programme.

Those sanctions were lifted as part of a landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers to curb its nuclear ambitions. But the US unilaterally pulled out of the deal in May 2018, reimposing biting economic sanctions on Iran.

Bank Mellat was also hit by US and Gulf sanctions in 2019 after being named as one of 25 entities linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. On September 4, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Turkey's Golden Global Bank over its alleged ties to the Revolutionary Guards as it sought to step up financial pressure on Iran.

The Turkish investment bank denied the accusations.

A few days later, Washington imposed sanctions on 36 entities, including three Turkish ground services companies, for helping Iran's Mahan Air -- a civilian carrier accused of supporting the Revolutionary Guards.

Following the move, Mahan Air said this week it would suspend all flights to Turkey from September 21 at the request of Turkish aviation authorities, Iran's ISNA news agency reported. The Turkish authority did not respond to a request for comment.

Iran has been at war since late February, when the United States and Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign that killed the Islamic republic's supreme leader.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington was declaring an "economic D-Day" on Iran, warning of harsh consequences for countries that do not join the campaign.

The move by Turkey's banking regulator comes just days before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is reportedly due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which begins in New York on Tuesday.