The global electronic payment system SWIFT has announced it is cutting ties to Iranian banks boycotted under European Union sanctions. European countries sanctioned Iranian banks earlier this year in a stated bid to pressure Iran over its alleged nuclear activities. Meanwhile in Washington, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland denied reports the United States has issued new warnings to Iran through Russia.

Victoria Nuland: “The Secretary did not send a warning to the Iranians through (Russian) Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov. The conversation that they had on Iran centered around ensuring that these talks, as they start, are structured in a way that they cannot—that they bring substantive results, that they can’t be used for stalling and that they can’t be used for covering continuing activity.”