By CS Brock:

Grenell urged Berlin to prevent Iran’s withdrawal of large sums of cash from German bank accounts in an effort to offset U.S. sanctions…..
richard grenell

(BizpacReview) A transfer of nearly $400 million in cash to Iran has been blocked by Germany’s central bank in what appears to be a response to efforts by the U.S. ambassador to Germany. Last month, Ambassador Richard Grenell urged Berlin to prevent Iran’s withdrawal of large sums of cash from German bank accounts in an effort to offset U.S. sanctions that took effect following Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Quiet diplomacy from U.S. Ambassador to Germany @RichardGrenell appears to have stopped a large 400 million dollar cash transfer to Iran. An impt uncovered story arc is Trump admin efforts in Europe to decouple continent from Iran deal https://t.co/tK8wPdBia8

— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) August 2, 2018

Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany’s powerful central bank, announced a new financial policy that would effectively bar the transfer of funds to Iran.

According to The Jerusalem Post:

The mass circulation daily BILD newspaper reported on Wednesday that the bank expanded its business conditions to include a section on “cash payment transfers” in order to reject financial transfers of partners of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

BILD reported in July that Iran’s regime seeks to use the European-Iranian trade bank in the northern German city of Hamburg – with the approval of the German government – to transfer the nearly $400 million in cash to circumvent pending US sanctions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government – widely considered one of the mos pro-Iran regime friendly European governments – has not commented on whether it will allow the roughly $400 million in cash to be sent to Iran to undercut the US sanctions campaign.

A member of the European System of Central Banks, Deutsche Bundesbank is a powerful influence within the European Union. Grenell reportedly urged the German government to block the cash payment to Iran and it remains to be seen if the Merkel administration will undermine U.S. efforts and allow the $400 million in cash to be sent to Iran.