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March 17th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Reacting to reports about the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) decision to discontinue offering service to the Iranian banks, Ali Fallahian said on Saturday that closing SWIFT to Iran is “like closing international waterways,” Fars News Agency reported.
“If the United States or Europe considers it its right to ignore international laws to meet its own interests, Iran may also decide to respond in kind wherever possible,” he added.
The former intelligence minister also warned Western countries not to underestimate Iran’s ability to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in reaction to the West’s escalating pressures.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow shipping channel that leads in and out of the Persian Gulf between Iran and Oman, with a daily flow of about 15-17 million barrels of oil. The figure accounts for 90 percent of Persian Gulf oil exports and 40 percent of global consumption.
On Thursday, March 15, SWIFT CEO Lazaro Campos said in a statement that the society has decided to discontinue offering services to Iranian banks which are subject to financial sanctions imposed by the European Union.
“Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT. It is a direct result of international and multilateral action to intensify financial sanctions against Iran,” he added.
Experts believe SWIFT’s new action is meant to fully enforce EU sanctions against Iran, as global financial transactions are impossible without using SWIFT.
Established in 1973, SWIFT is an international clearing system which handles cross-border payments for more than 10,000 financial institutions and corporations in 210 countries.
SS/PKH/HGH
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