UAE shuts out Iran's Bank Melli over regulatory violations

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UAE shuts out Iran’s Bank Melli over regulatory violations

September 23, 2026

DUBAI,— The United Arab Emirates’ central bank on Wednesday barred Iran’s Bank Melli from operating in the country, citing violations of regulatory requirements as relations between the UAE and Iran have deteriorated since the US war on Iran began in February 2026.

The central bank said the decision applies to all Bank Melli branches in the UAE.

They will no longer be permitted to conduct financial transactions to or from Iran, including trade finance and fund transfers.

The action came after the UAE announced in August that it was suspending all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice.

Iran has attacked neighboring countries aligned with the United States, including the UAE, since the conflict began.

The central bank said Bank Melli had violated UAE regulations, laws and supervisory decisions. It said the breaches included failures to comply with requirements under laws covering money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision was part of a broader tightening of restrictions after US sanctions.

In late August, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the manager of Bank Melli’s UAE branch and a Hong Kong entity that it said helped launder money for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house.

The UAE has historically been one of Iran’s main economic links with the outside world. Banks in Dubai have also held substantial Iran-related deposits, many of which were frozen under US sanctions.

Bank Melli began operating in the UAE in 1969 and has seven branches across various emirates, according to its website. Its main office is in Dubai.

The UAE has a large Iranian community, with many businesses clustered around Dubai Creek, the emirate’s historic trading hub.

Before the suspension of financial ties, the UAE was one of Iran’s largest trading partners. World Trade Organization data showed that the UAE accounted for about 30% of Iran’s imports, worth roughly $21 billion in 2024.

(With files from Reuters)