Turkiye revokes operating licence of Iran’s Bank Mellat in Istanbul

The Iranian lender has faced years of Western sanctions over alleged ties to Tehran’s nuclear programme.

A man uses an automated teller machine (ATM) from Bank Mellat in Tehran on September 7, 2026 [AFP]

Turkiye’s banking watchdog has revoked the operating licence of Iranian lender Bank Mellat’s branch in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

“It has been decided to revoke the operating licence of Bank Mellat, Head Office in Tehran, Istanbul Turkey Central Branch,” read the decision by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), published in the Official Gazette on Saturday.

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The regulator said the decision was taken under a clause of Turkiye’s banking law allowing a bank’s licence to be revoked or withdrawn if its continued operation is deemed to pose a risk to depositors’ rights or to the security and stability of the financial system.

Bank Mellat has been subject to Western sanctions for years over accusations that Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapon under the cover of a civil nuclear programme.

Those sanctions were lifted as part of a landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, the United States unilaterally pulled out of the agreement in May 2018, reimposing economic sanctions on the country.

Bank Mellat was hit by further US and Gulf sanctions in 2019 after being named as one of 25 entities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Turkish notice did not cite the US measures or specify operational issues.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a small Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran.

The Treasury Department accused Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) of facilitating “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force” and providing the Iranian government with banking access to move its funds internationally.

Golden Global Bank has denied the accusations.

这家伊朗贷款机构因涉嫌与德黑兰核计划有关联，多年来一直面临西方的制裁。

2026年9月7日，一名男子在德黑兰梅拉特银行使用自动取款机（ATM）。[法新社]

土耳其银行业监管机构吊销了伊朗银行梅拉特银行在土耳其伊斯坦布尔分行的营业执照。

“经决定，撤销土耳其德黑兰梅拉特银行伊斯坦布尔中央分行的营业执照。”土耳其银行监管局（BDDK）于周六在官方公报上发布的决定如此写道。

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监管机构表示，该决定是根据土耳其银行法的一项条款做出的，该条款允许在银行继续运营被认为对存款人的权利或金融体系的安全和稳定构成风险时，撤销或吊销该银行的许可证。

多年来，由于被指控德黑兰以民用核计划为掩护，从事核武器研发，梅拉特银行一直受到西方制裁。

这些制裁是2015年德黑兰与世界大国达成的一项具有里程碑意义的协议的一部分，该协议旨在遏制伊朗的核野心。然而，美国于2018年5月单方面退出了该协议，并重新对伊朗实施经济制裁。

2019 年，梅拉特银行被列为与伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队 (IRGC) 有关联的 25 个实体之一，随后遭到美国和海湾国家的进一步制裁。

土耳其的通知没有提及美国的措施，也没有具体说明操作问题。

本月初，美国财政部以涉嫌与伊朗有关联为由，对一家土耳其小型投资银行及其两家子公司实施了制裁。

美国财政部指控 Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi（金环球银行）为“伊斯兰革命卫队圣城旅”提供了价值数千万美元的交易便利，并为伊朗政府提供了在国际上转移资金的银行渠道。

金环银行否认了这些指控。