Overview
- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Thursday that state-owned Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA) has been designated under Executive Order 14404 for providing services to Iran’s Karafarin Bank.
- The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control blocked all BICSA property under U.S. jurisdiction and ordered U.S. persons to report any blocked assets to OFAC.
- U.S. officials tied the action to a broader push to disrupt Cuba’s financial links with Tehran, noting Karafarin was itself sanctioned by Treasury in 2020.
- The State Department warned that foreign banks and other non-U.S. persons that transact with entities designated under E.O. 14404 face sanctions risk, raising compliance and reputational pressures worldwide.
- Havana protested the move and accused U.S. officials of pressuring governments ahead of an upcoming United Nations General Assembly vote on the U.S. embargo, framing the listing as diplomatic coercion.