Defense Minister Israel Katz signed an order today (Thursday) designating the Iranian state-owned Bank Melli as a terrorist organization.
The designation was made at the request of the security agencies and on the recommendation of the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF), under the authority granted by Section 11 of the Counter-Terrorism Law.
According to the Ministry of Defense, Bank Melli is one of the central entities involved in transferring funds from the Iranian regime to terrorist organizations in the Middle East and beyond, and functions as a financial arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force. The bank operates an extensive cover network for money laundering and for circumventing international sanctions.
Among its activities, the bank provides large-scale financial services to Iranian security bodies, including opening accounts and transferring funds for entities directly involved in financing and carrying out terrorism.
This designation joins previous steps taken by Israel against Iranian financial institutions, including the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Bank Melli, and Bank Shahr. The United States designated Bank Melli as a terrorist entity as early as 2018.
Katz said, “The Iranian regime is the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism and uses state-owned banks as outright terror arms. Bank Melli is an integral part of Iran’s axis of evil and its terror-financing machine-from transferring funds to the Revolutionary Guards and the Quds Force to financing and operating terrorist organizations that act against the State of Israel, undermine regional stability, and harm global security."
He added, “We will not allow Iran and its proxies to hide behind fabricated financial systems. We will act in every way, everywhere, and by every means to dry up the sources of terror financing and thwart Iran’s attempts to spread terrorism around the world."