Top Banks in Iran Dragged Into Rouhani Tussle With Rivals
- Some banks said to have denied services to military entity
- Conservative daily accuses authorities of ‘self-sanctioning’
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Several of Iran’s biggest banks have been dragged into a fight between the government and its hardline opponents, as disputes over last year’s nuclear deal roil domestic politics months ahead of presidential elections.
The nation’s leading conservative newspaper on Saturday published photos of letters purportedly sent by two lenders -- Bank Mellat and Bank Sepah -- declining to serve companies and individuals working for a conglomerate owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made similar claims about other lenders.