French news agency AFP reported on Nov. 7 from Athena that the United States has asked Greece to take measures against the local subsidiary of Iran’s Bank Saderat which it suspects of funding Islamist militants, the American embassy in Athens said Wednesday.
US embassy spokesperson Carol Kalin said Greek authorities were asked to “investigate” the bank as US allies have been urged to take “similar or comparable measures” to those adopted by Washington.
The US State Department maintains that Bank Saderat and its around 3,200 branches have been used by the Iranian government to channel funds to militants including Hezbollah, Hamas, PFLP-GC, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The bank from 2001 to 2006 transferred 50 million dollars from the Central Bank of Iran to its branch in Beirut via London for the benefit of Hezbollah fronts in Lebanon, and has also transferred several million dollars to Hamas, the State Department says.
