Three Iranian firms operating in South Korea were found to have already been on a U.S. blacklist crossing out companies seen to be aiding Iran’s illegal development of nuclear weapons programs.
The three were Bank Mellat, CISCO Shipping Company and Iran Petrochemical Commercial Company, officials close to the matter said.
Bank Mellat’s Seoul branch has been on the list since October 2007, while CISCO was designated in September of 2008, and Iran Petrochemical since June this year.
Among the trio, the bank may be on the brink of shut-down as South Korea is increasingly pressured to fully support U.S. sanctions against Iran.
Sources have said that the bank was found to have engaged in “obscure” transactions during a regular checkup on the bank recently conducted by financialauthorities here.
There were two other Iranian companies operating in South Korea that were on the list of entities facing Washington’s wrath, but the fate of Mellat appeared to be the trickiest issue as the bank handles most of the financial transactions for South Korean companies doing business in Iran.
Closing it down could be a symbolic yet emphatic gesture, those close to the matter said, and also may help Washington persuade China to follow South Korea’s example.
It also would mean, however, that South Korea may be at risk of losing its lucrative business with Iran, not to mention its market for acquiring oil.
There are procedural issues to consider as well, financial officials said, as the obscure transactions must be of a severely significant level, or else the bank’s financial health should be in jeopardy in order for the government to justify a shut-down.
Officials so far have said they are considering their options.
“Relations with both the U.S. and Iran are important to us,” said one Foreign Ministry official.
South Korea has a strong alliance with the U.S., but it also has a multi-billion dollar trade business with Iran.
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