French Senator Philippe Bonnecarrere (R), Iranian parliamentary member Kazem Jalali (C), and French parliamentarian Delphine O (L) give a joint press conference in Iran's capital Tehran on October 21, 2018 AFP

TEHRAN, Oct 22, (AFP): European nations are seeking to ensure at least one Iranian bank stays connected to the world after the US imposed new sanctions against the country, a French senator said in Tehran on Sunday.The United States pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May and has been reimposing punishing sanctions on the Islamic republic, targeting in particular its financial system. The European efforts to help Iranians benefit from the nuclear deal despite the US sanctions is “difficult but it’s possible”, said French Senator Philippe Bonnecarrere. One way was “to have at least one Iranian bank remain connected to the international banking system through SWIFT to keep up commercial relations on goods or services that are not subject to sanctions,” he added.Bonnecarrere, who heads the France-Iran friendship group in the upper house of parliament, made the remarks during a news conference with French and Iranian counterparts. The 2015 nuclear deal was agreed between Iran and the socalled P5+1 group – UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany.Bonnecarrere was in Iran with six other members of the French parliament. The visit was a sign of “all the determination and all the will of France to keep alive the nuclear agreement,” said Delphine O, one of lawmakers. Meanwhile, a jihadist group has claimed responsibility for the abduction of 12 Iranian security personnel near the border with Pakistan, Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported Monday.“The terrorist group Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice in Arabic) has posted two photos ... claiming that those in it are the forces abducted” on Oct 16, ISNA said. Jaish al-Adl, formed in 2012, is a successor to the Sunni extremist group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) which has carried out a spate of attacks on Iranian security forces in recent years in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.The photos show seven members of the elite RevoGuards force and five police commandos, all in combat gear, according to state news agency IRNA. The Iranians, including intelligence offices, were abducted near Lulakdan, a village 150 kms (90 miles) southeast of Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan.They were “made unconscious” by a “single infiltrator” and then kidnapped and taken to bases inside Pakistan, said Guards commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, quoted by IRNA. The photos also show a haul of automatic weapons and sniper rifles, rocket launchers, machine-guns, grenades and ammunition, apparently seized from the Iranian forces.Sistan-Baluchistan has long been a flashpoint, with Pakistan-based Baluchi separatists and jihadists carrying out regular cross-border raids against Iran. The province has a large, mainly Sunni Muslim ethnic Baluchi community which straddles the border. A delegation led by the Guards’ ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour visited Pakistan on Monday to follow up on efforts to free the Iranians, the force said on its website.Pakistan said last Wednesday that it has launched “active” efforts to locate the missing men. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has blamed the kidnapping on “our common enemies unhappy with the existing close, friendly relations between Pakistan and Iran”. A court in Iran sentenced to death a financial trader known as the “Sultan of Coins” on Sunday, along with another man, the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency reported. “Two of those convicted of spreading corruption on earth in preliminary hearings had their case reviewed in the Supreme Court and were sentenced to death today,” said judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei.“Corruption on earth” is the gravest charge in the Islamic republic which warrants a death sentence. One of the two men set for death row was identified as Vahid Mazloumin – the trader popularly referred to as the “Sultan of Coins” in Iranian media. Mizan named the other as Mohammad- Esmaeel Ghasemi, without elaborating. The pair first went on trial on Sept 8 over charges of “disrupting the economy” through the creation of a network trading in illegal currency and gold coins, Mizan reported. A third person, Hamid Bagheri- Dermani, was also accused of corruption and sentenced to death in the preliminary hearings. His case is still up for appeal before the Supreme Court.Ejei said the swift conclusion of the cases served as a “warning to opportunists” aiming to disrupt the economy during the time of the “enemy’s pressure” on Iran. Iran’s crackdown on such corruption has intensified since its economy tanked over internal difficulties coupled with the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal in May and reimposition of sanctions.