AIPAC lauds SWIFT decision on Iran

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference (AIPAC) on Friday welcomed the Thursday announcement by the European Union and the SWIFT Board to cut Tehran off from global commerce by cutting ties with blacklisted Iranian banks.

“We applaud the work done by Congress and the administration to press the Board to restrict bank transfers from these Iranian banks and increase the international sanctions campaign against the Islamic Republic for its ongoing pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability,” stated the AIPAC press release.

However, the organization added that Thursday’s decision must “be supplemented by additional measures to press the regime to change course,” stressing that “time is running out to impose further crippling sanctions on Iran before it has a nuclear weapons capability, which would dramatically escalate Iran’s challenge to America’s national security and our interests around the globe.”

On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the decision to sever ties with Iranian banks. A similar response came from the White House, where spokesperson Jay Carney was quoted as saying that Iran had to pay for its refusal to comply with international demands.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is a banking hub crucial to oil, financial transactions and other trades.

Because of its reach, SWIFT’s decision to cut off some 30 Iranian banks and subsidiaries could hinder not only banking but also the country’s lucrative crude oil industry and possibly hurt Iranian households that depend on remittances from relatives living abroad.

“Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT,” said Lazaro Campos, chief executive of the company. “It is a direct result of international and multilateral action to intensify financial sanctions against Iran.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.