Indonesia Says Iran’s Banking Restrictions Still in Place

Indonesia’s OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) Governor Widhyawan Prawiraatmadja said on Monday that his country still faces difficulties in working with Iranian banks despite a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Prawiraatmadja said Jakarata plans to import liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Iran, adding, however, that no deal has yet been signed between the two countries because some banking restrictions are still in place.

“The difficulty is the transaction, as it’s not always easy to get the banks to do it,” he said as cited by Reuters.

Prawiraatmadja declined to comment on the quantities of LPG Indonesia would import, except to say the country would take “whatever they have, provided that it is at better terms than with other sources”.

While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers- came into force in January, some Iranian officials have complained about the US failure to fully implement the accord.

Last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Americans have yet to fulfill what they were supposed to do as per the nuclear deal.

Iran still has problems in its banking transactions or in restoring its frozen assets, because Western countries and those involved in such processes are afraid of Americans, Imam Khamenei said, criticizing the US for its moves to prevent Iran from taking advantage of the sanctions removal.