Written question asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Monday, 23 April 2012.

Iran

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what legal authority the European Union and the Belgian-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) blocked financial transactions from Iranian banks and other financial institutions.

Answer: The European Union (EU) implemented a prohibition on the provision of specialised financial messaging services to designated entities on the basis of Council Decision 2012/152/CFSP and Regulation 267/2012 on restrictive measures against Iran. These legal acts are, respectively, based on Article 29 of the Treaty on European Union, which enables the Council to adopt decisions on geographical or thematic matters, and Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which provides for the ““interruption or reduction, in part or completely, of economic and financial relations with one or more third countries””. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and other providers are required to comply with these provisions. The EU has imposed tough and wide-ranging sanctions targeted at persuading Iran to desist with its proliferation-sensitive activities. The EU legal acts build on sanctions imposed against Iran by four United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Government discourage all trade with Iran and strongly support the targeting of Iranian banks and financial institutions that fund Iran's nuclear programme.

Secondary information