UAE freezes 41 UN-banned Iran accounts

AFP - The central bank of the United Arab Emirates has ordered that 41 bank accounts targeted by the new UN sanctions against Iran be frozen, a local daily newspaper reported on Monday.

In a circular sent to all banks, moneychangers, investment and finance companies operating in the UAE, the central bank also ordered the freezing of remittances to entities and individuals listed by the June 9 UN resolution, Emirates Business daily said.

This move was to conform with the resolution "regarding non-proliferation of nuclear weapons," the circular said.

However, the notice also warned against targeting accounts and remittances by entities or individuals whose names are not listed by the resolution.

The move comes a week after Dubai, home to a large Iranian community, reportedly closed 40 international and local firms in a crackdown on companies violating UN sanctions on Iran.

For years, the Islamic republic has had active trade relations with Dubai, one of seven emirates making up the UAE, with the trade volume estimated at around 10 billion dollars a year, mostly in Iranian imports.

On June 9, the UN Security Council slapped a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its controversial nuclear drive, this time tightening the noose on military and financial transactions.

The resolution bans the sale to Tehran of eight new types of heavy weapons and also applies new restrictions on Iranian investments abroad.

The fresh UN and US sanctions were imposed after a defiant Tehran pressed ahead with its programme of uranium enrichment that Iran insists is peaceful but which the West and others suspect is aimed at making an atomic bomb.