Sixteen Republican senators are urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to exclude Iran from a key international financial system amid a broader effort to pressure the country into halting its nuclear program.
The letter, sent on Wednesday and led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, comes weeks after the administration imposed the first wave of sanctions after President Trump’s withdrawal from an Iranian nuclear accord reached under former President Barack Obama. The next set of sanctions is set to take effect in November.
Cruz and his colleagues asked Mnuchin to remove Iran from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the so-called SWIFT network that allows global financial institutions to obtain information about banking transactions like money transfers.
“The administration’s maximum pressure campaign will not succeed if the Islamic Republic remains connected to SWIFT,” the lawmakers wrote. The GOP members, including Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, praised Trump’s reported desire to impose sanctions on “directors of SWIFT and their employing financial institutions.”
All banks represented on SWIFT’s board “must be held accountable if they circumvent American sanctions and empower the Iranian regime,” they wrote.
Trump’s withdrawal, which was opposed by countries like Germany, China and France, has been linked to higher fuel costs, hindering profits in the airline industry and other sectors.
National security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday the new sanctions were “already having a significant effect on Iran’s economy,” but noted the administration is not advocating for a regime change.
