Financial Times:

John Kerry, US secretary of state, unveiled a historic deal with Iran in July 2015. This was supposed to be a key part of the Obama legacy: in exchange for Tehran freezing its nuclear programme, Washington pledged to lift many sanctions — a move that was supposed to enable money to flow into Iran again to kick-start economic growth.

The concept sounded momentous — for Iran and the US. A year later, however, this vision is not quite playing out as planned. Never mind the fact that the deal is loathed by many Republicans; so much so that Donald Trump, the party’s presidential candidate, has promised to rip it up if he gets into power. And leave aside the resentment that parts of the Iranian government still feel.

... In theory, there are reasons why non-American banks might like to grab at this chance. European banks are hungry to find high-return business opportunities, given that interest rates are low in the west. Meanwhile, banks such as Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and HSBC have long histories in Iran — and clients who want to do business there. Last month, for example, Siemens and Rolls-Royce started talks on new energy investments.

But there is a multibillion-dollar catch. Since 2010, the DoJ has fined non-American banks some $15bn for alleged global infractions of sanctions, anti-money laundering and antiterrorism rules. This includes an eye-watering $8.9bn fine levied in 2014 against BNP Paribas over deals with Iran, Cuba and Sudan....

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