Iran and Russia will continue to move away from using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) financial network and the US dollar in external financial transactions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, while commenting on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the recent trilateral summit on Syria in Ankara
TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2019) Iran and Russia will continue to move away from using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) financial network and the US Dollar in external financial transactions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday, while commenting on his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the recent trilateral summit on Syria in Ankara.On September 13, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov said that Russia and Iran were setting up cooperation between the Russian financial messaging system and Iran's SEPAM as an alternative to making payments through SWIFT for protection against third countries' sanctions.
"We are glad that Iran maintains banking relations with a number of countries without using SWIFT. Once Western countries presented [the idea] that banks and banking relations mean SWIFT. However, if a country is deprived of [the ability to use] her [the system] then those countries' banking relations will disappear," the Iranian president said, stressing that this process will help to weaken the United States' financial dominance.
He also lauded Iran's abandonment of the US dollar in favor of national countries in trade with Russia and Turkey.
"Establishing trade relations in national Currency with Turkey and Russia, and also with other countries, such as Iraq, could solve many problems regarding broadening connections," Rouhani said during a cabinet session of the Iranian government.
SWIFT is a communication network used by financial organizations for fast, accurate, and secure information exchange, including money transfer instructions.
