Khamenei: Iran Still Has Difficulties in Banking Sector Due to US Influence

The Iranian banking sector, despite the lifting of Western sanctions, is still experiencing problems because of the United States, the nation’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In early March, Iranian state media reported that the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out a ballistic missile launch as one of the last steps in testing the capabilities of Iranian-produced missiles.

US lawmakers have since threatened to impose more sanctions on Iran, while the Obama administration has warned that if the reports are confirmed, the United States would raise the matter with the UN Security Council.

"To date, all the Western countries are under the US influence. All of our banking operations do not pass without problems… It is clear that behind all this are the United States who only declared about the lifting of sanctions, but lifted them on paper only..," Khamenei said, as quoted by the IRINN news agency.

Khamenei underscored that the main goal of the Iranian authorities in 2016 would be the solution of economic problems.

In January, EU, UN and US sanctions were lifted from Iran following Tehran's implementation of its obligations under the nuclear deal signed with six world powers to ensure the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. The move has restored the Islamic republic’s access to the global market.