US Sanctions Cuban State Bank Over Financial Links To Iran

ISTANBUL, Oct 16 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on Cuban state-owned lender Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A. (BICSA) over its alleged commercial links to Iranian financial networks, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

"Cuba's BICSA has provided services to the designated Iran's Karafarin Bank since at least 2022," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, accusing Havana of operating as an outpost for foreign adversaries targeting Washington.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Havana-based bank for operating within Cuba's financial sector, coordinating the step with broader actions against Iranian entities.

"For too long, Communist Cuba has been allowed to operate as an outpost for malign actors and terror groups – including the Islamic Republic of Iran," Rubio said.

He warned that Washington will "aggressively" dismantle financial ties between Havana and Tehran, emphasising that the administration will not "tolerate" hostile operations situated near American borders.

Bilateral relations have entered a confrontational phase under US President Donald Trump, whose administration has made regime change an explicit objective. Washington has utilised an oil blockade and sweeping sanctions to pressure Havana, leading to months of rolling blackouts and an unstable power grid.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU