US announces sanctions on subsidiary of Iranian bank

The US Treasury Department has announced sanctions against the Malaysian subsidiary of Iran's Bank Mellat, the department said in a statement.

The Treasury Department claimed that Bank Mellat "has facilitated the movement of millions of dollars for Iran's nuclear program," AFP reported on Thursday.

The department has also slapped sanctions on Bank Mellat Chairman Ali Divandari, the statement said.

"The US Department of the Treasury today designated First East Export Bank (FEEB), a Bank Mellat subsidiary located in Malaysia, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13382 for being owned or controlled by Bank Mellat. Treasury also designated the Chairman of Bank Mellat, Ali Divandari, for acting on behalf of Bank Mellat. E.O. 13382 freezes the assets of designated proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters and prohibits US persons from engaging in any transactions with them," the Treasury Department said in its statement on Thursday.

The US imposed sanctions on three Iranian banks in 2008, including Bank Mellat.

The First East Export Bank PLC, is said to be a Mellat subsidiary based in Labuan, Malaysia.

In October, Britain ordered financial companies to stop trade with Bank Mellat over its links to Iran's nuclear program.

The sanctions against Iran's banking system come as part of the Western pressure on Tehran to halt its civil nuclear program.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that it will not give up the Iranian nation's legitimate nuclear rights under such Western pressure.