Britain cuts financial ties with Iran

LONDON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Britain cut all financial ties with Iranian banks in response to growing concerns over the country's nuclear ambitions, the British government announced Monday.

Chancellor George Osborne said all British credit and financial institutions had to end working with Iran's banks by Monday afternoon, The Independent reported.

"We believe that the Iranian regime's actions pose a significant threat to the U.K.'s national security and the international community," Osborne said. "Today's announcement is a further step to preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons."

The move by Britain is part of a broader international effort involving the United States and Canada, The Independent of London said.

U.S. officials were expected to announce it will name Iran and its Central Bank as a "primary money laundering concern," Monday, but not place sanctions directly on the bank, a senior Treasury Department official told CNN.

The United States also will impose sanctions on a number of Iranian companies allegedly assisting Iran's nuclear program, the Treasury official said.

The British Treasury said banks played a "crucial role" in facilitating Iran's nuclear program and denying access to London institutions would hinder Tehran's ambitions while preventing British institutions from being "unknowingly used by Iranian banks for proliferation-related transactions."

The actions come in response to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which expressed serious concern about what it said was Iran's continued work on its nuclear program. Iran has denied its nuclear program is for anything but civilian purposes.

"I have today taken action to impose further financial restrictions against Iran. This follows the International Atomic Energy Agency's report uncovering evidence of Iran's development of nuclear weapons technology," Osborne said. "It is also a response to calls from the Financial Action Task Force for countries to strengthen safeguards to protect their financial sectors from money laundering and financing of terrorism risks emanating from Iran."