Switzerland has extended its sanctions on Iran to another 11 individuals and companies; however, it has also announced that it will not boycott Iran’s Central Bank.
Associated Press quoted a spokesman for the Swiss government saying that eight companies and three Iranian officials have been blacklisted by Switzerland in line with EU measures adopted against Iran in January.
An exception was made, however, for Iran’s Central Bank “due to its importance for the Iranian economy.”
The United States and the European Union have laid sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank, and international companies that deal with the bank open themselves up to punitive U.S. and EU measures.
The West is suspicious of Iran’s nuclear program and wants assurances that it will not pursue nuclear weapons. Iran insists, however, that its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
Iran met with the G5+1 last Saturday in Istanbul and both sides called it a positive step. Iran has also called for the easing of sanctions prior to the next meeting in Baghdad at the end of May.
