Iranian Shipping Line Faces UK Embargo

UK / IRAN — The British government has banned UK banks and financial institutions from trading with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines due to allegations that the company has been instrumental to the Iranian nuclear and missile programs by transporting embargoed material and equipment.

Also implicated and banned is Bank Mellat for being “involved in transactions related to financing Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programme.”

In a written statement Treasury minister Sarah McCarthy-Fry said: “Financial and credit institutions will no longer be able to enter into new transactions or business relationships with these entities, nor to continue with existing transactions or business relationships unless they are licensed by HM Treasury.”

The measures are apparently not related to last month’s revelation on Iran’s second uranium enrichment plant and it remains to be seen how long the ban will last.