BERLIN, July 19, (Agencies): Germany’s financial market watchdog is investigating a newspaper report alleging that an Iranian-owned bank in Germany is helping the Islamic Republic do business linked to its nuclear programme, the government said on Monday.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the European-Iranian Trade Bank AG — called EIH Bank in Germany — has done more than $1 billion worth of business for Iranian firms, including some blacklisted by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.
Citing Western officials, the newspaper said EIH “appears to have been involved” in a broad sanctions-evasion scheme, doing deals for Iran’s state-run Bank Sepah, which is under international sanctions for aiding Iran’s sensitive nuclear work.

EIH said it was observing the relevant rules and was regularly audited by German supervisory authorities.
“(The bank) strictly fulfils all prevailing mandatory legal rules and export regulations, (and also) obeys all sanction regulations applying in the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Community,” it said in a statement.
Germany’s Finance Ministry said the central bank and financial market watchdog BaFin were investigating the matter.
“The banking oversight currently has no findings about the infringements reported, but BaFin and the Bundesbank are investigating these accusations against this bank,” ministry spokesman Michael Offer told a news conference.
The UN has imposed a range of sanctions on Iran over its uranium enrichment programme, which Western powers believe aims to create atomic weapons. Tehran says it wants nuclear power only for the peaceful generation of electricity.
The newspaper also said the US Treasury had blacklisted EIH and that Washington was pushing the EU to follow suit.
Asked about this, German Foreign Ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said Berlin and its European partners were working to implement the latest round of sanctions on Iran agreed by the UN Security Council in June.
“In this context we’re also looking at whether this implementation can be backed up with additional sanctions.
“Among these are further restrictions in the banking sector,” he said, adding discussions were still under way.
The latest round of UN sanctions calls for measures against new Iranian banks abroad if a connection to the nuclear or missile programs is suspected, as well as vigilance over transactions with any Iranian bank, including the central bank.
The US Congress passed an additional round of sanctions later last month which go beyond the UN measures.
These state that foreign banks that do business with key Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guards — cited by the newspaper as one beneficiary of EIH’s business dealings — will not be allowed access to the US financial system.
Cowboy
The United States must drop its “cowboy” attitude if it wants to hold dialogue with Iran over its nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.
“We are for negotiations, but to do so you have to sit down like a good boy,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to the United States, in a speech broadcast live on state television.
“They adopt a resolution to force a dialogue, but this cowboy logic has no place in Iran.”
World powers led by the US voted for new UN sanctions against Iran on June 9 in a bid to force it to stop its nuclear programme which they suspect is aimed at making weapons. Iran denies its atomic drive has military aims.
Following up on the UN sanctions, US President Barack Obama on July 1 imposed Washington’s toughest-ever unilateral punitive measures against Iran.
Ahmadinejad said Washington’s real concern was not that Iran may make an atom bomb but that Tehran is fast rising as a regional power.
“They say we have intelligence that Iranians will most likely build one atomic bomb. Well, this is a lie, but let’s say it is true. How many atomic bombs do you have?” the hardliner said in his speech, delivered in the northern city of Qazvin.
“The Americans themselves say 5,000 plus... Is someone who has 5,000 fourth and fifth generation atomic bombs, with very advanced launchers, afraid of one bomb? They are not afraid of one, not of a hundred, not of a thousand (bombs). They are afraid of the collective awakening of the Iranian soul.”
Displaying his trademark defiance, Ahmadinejad vowed that Iran would not back away from its uranium enrichment programme.
Washington, he charged, knew full well that Iran is “not after an atomic bomb,” despite its claims to the contrary.
“You sanction our banks and some products and think that we will back down and hand over the key to the Iranian nation,” he said.
“They should know that they will take their dream of forcing down the Iranian nation to their graves. Our nation is one family... we may have different views, but we are one body against you.”
World powers, immediately after the UN sanctions measure was passed, called for dialogue with Iran as part of its dual track strategy of imposing punitive measures and at the same time offering to hold talks.
But Ahmadinejad has ordered a freeze in talks at least until end of August as a “penalty” against world powers for imposing sanctions on Tehran.