US bank rules undermine UN

Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations says the United States has jeopardized its position as the world body’s “host country” by closing over 100 diplomatic bank accounts.

“The blocking of ambassador’s [bank] accounts pose an existential threat to the United Nations,” said Mohammad Khazaei Thursday, quoted by IRNA.

“The responsibility lies with the host country to fulfill its duties regarding this problem, otherwise the US government’s credibility and suitability as host [to the UN] would more than ever become questionable,” Khazaei added.

The Iranian diplomat made the remark in the wake of a decision by several banks in the US to close the accounts of many diplomatic missions at the UN, causing the ambassadors inconvenience and difficulty in finding new banking services.

As Washington toughens its reign over the banking and financial institutes in the country, JPMorgan Chase & Co., which holds many UN diplomatic accounts, decided to shut them down without any reason.

Khazaei said the problem not only threatens the operation of UN missions but the functioning and existence of the United Nations, because a number of countries could no longer financially contribute to the UN and the world body’s peacekeeping missions.

Khazaee added that he had suggested to the world body that the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) be authorized to provide banking services to diplomatic missions. He also suggested that the United Nations take its money out of Chase “and place it in a bank that is willing to carry accounts for diplomatic missions.”

Meanwhile, other UN ambassadors also voiced their criticism about the US decision for further monitoring of financial transactions and demanded that the decision be withdrawn.

“Banks are acting on a commercial basis … so they have to calculate every penny they spend…If you keep asking them to present reports about monitoring and others, then this is one factor they have to take into consideration – and it is a private enterprise,” AP quoted Egyptian ambassador to the UN Maged Abdelaziz as saying.

“We can’t find yet another bank. We shopped around,” Abdelaziz said, adding that banks told his mission “they don’t have space.”