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Iran, Russia sign bank messaging agreement to override SWIFT

Both countries are banned from the SWIFT financial messaging system due to US and European sanctions.
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images

Iran and Russia signed a financial messaging agreement on Sunday that would allow their banks to transfer funds between one another, and evade sanctions mechanism that blocks most of their entities from SWIFT. 

The memorandum of understanding will allow Iranian and Russian banks to exchange standard financial messages. Officials from both countries held a ceremony in Tehran for the occasion. A Russian official, Vladislav Gridchin, said Western sanctions will not be able to impede the bilateral messaging, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. 

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