London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

UK settles Iranian bank’s damages claim via 3rd country to sidestep US sanctions – reports

UK settles Iranian bank’s damages claim via 3rd country to sidestep US sanctions – reports

The United Kingdom has reportedly used a third country to bypass US sanctions in settling a $1.6-billion damages claim with Iran’s Bank Mellat.
Iran’s largest private bank, in which the Iranian government owns a 20 percent stake, sued the UK government over sanctions it imposed back in 2009. The bank had originally sought $3.9 billion in damages, but the sum was reportedly later decreased to $1.6 billion with interest. Media reports state that the payment was conducted late this week using a third country, as the parties wanted to avoid US sanctions. The third country in question was not specified.

Iran’s Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad confirmed that the UK government made the long-awaited payment to Tehran, but did not specify how the procedure was carried out. He also described the settlement as an important legal success for his country.

“The British government’s compensation has been paid to the Bank of Mellat. [This] is a major legal success for Iran,” Baeidinejad tweeted.

The UK sanctions from 2009 were part of a series of measures taken by Western nations against Iran after Tehran was accused of having plans to build an atomic weapon. However, the Islamic Republic insisted that it was pursuing only a civil nuclear program.

These sanctions largely prevented Bank Mellat from doing business with the UK financial sector, and “substantially damaged the bank’s reputation,” as well as leading to the loss of profits and customers. In 2013, the UK Supreme Court ruled that sanctions imposed on the bank were unlawful, and that the government’s move had been “irrational” and “disproportionate.”

The sanctions were then fully lifted in 2015 when a landmark international nuclear deal with Iran came into effect. However, the final settlement on the dispute was reached by the sides only 10 years later, in June 2019. Upon settlement, the UK government’s Treasury Department issued a statement saying that “Bank Mellat’s claims have been concluded on terms confidential to the parties.”

Now, the bank is one of a long list of Iranian financial entities that have faced renewed sanctions after the US unilaterally pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. These sanctions have effectively cut the nation off from the global financial system.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×