(../../../../favicon_aje.ico) Turkiye revokes operating licence of Iran’s Bank Mellat in Istanbul | Banks News | Al Jazeera    (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/9/19/turkiye-revokes-operating-licence-of-irans-bank-mellat)                                               (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/economy/2026/9/19/turkiye-revokes-operating-licence-of-irans-bank-mellat)  (https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AFP__20260907__C7JG4A3__v3__HighRes__TopshotIranUsIsraelWar-1789803860.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)  (../../../../wp-content/uploads/2026/09/AFP__20260907__C7JG4A3__v3__HighRes__TopshotIranUsIsraelWar-1789803860.jpg@resize=770,513&quality=80)     (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org) (https://cdn.cookielaw.org/scripttemplates/otSDKStub.js) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://www.google-analytics.com) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (https://static.chartbeat.com/) (../../../../static/css/vendor~main~d08ff9cb.24bf1742.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~748942c6.6c6e15fe.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~b07b7304.e3bc53a0.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~6e6dca10.74fd263a.r2.chunk.css) (../../../../static/css/component~main~5db14389.c7afea12.r2.chunk.css) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Bold.52bb58c8.woff2) (https://www.aljazeera.com/static/media/Roboto-Regular.c5bf51b6.woff2)  (../../../../static/css/vendor~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-blo~5f903362.2e08e417.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~41c72a2c.3f309873.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/component~aje/containers/home-page~components/video-article/videoPageDispatcher~containers/amp-live-~06be7c11.0625e98d.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/pages/article-page~493df0b3.accd71c7.r2.chunk.css)  (../../../../static/css/common~493df0b3.ec3ab9b5.r2.chunk.css)   Skip links (turkiye-revokes-operating-licence-of-irans-bank-mellat@traffic_source=rss.html#main-content-area) Skip to Content  (https://www.aljazeera.com/)          (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Sign up  Show navigation menu     Navigation menu (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/) News    Show more news sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/) Africa   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/) Asia   (https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/) US & Canada   (https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/) Latin America   (https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/) Europe   (https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/) Asia Pacific      (https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/) Middle East   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/) Explained   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sports) Sport   (https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/) Opinion   (https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/) Video   More   Show more sections  (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/) Features   (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/) Economy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/) Human Rights   (https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis) Climate Crisis   (https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/) Investigations   (https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/) Interactives   (https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/) In Pictures   (https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/) Science & Technology   (https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts) Podcasts   (https://www.aljazeera.com/travel) Travel   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored/) Sponsored Content        (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live) play    Live    Click here to search search     Sign up        Navigation menu caret-left    (https://www.aljazeera.com/where/middle-east/iran/) Iran    (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/3/2/hold-analysis-khameneis-killing-leaves-irans-axis-in-disarray) Iran’s ‘axis’ in disarray   (https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/3/2/after-irans-salvo-hit-their-skylines-will-the-gulf-states-enter-the-war) Will Gulf states join war?   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A man uses an automated teller machine (ATM) from Bank Mellat in Tehran on September 7, 2026 [AFP]   (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458)     By  (https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458) Al Jazeera Staff , AFPand Reuters   Published On 19 Sep 2026 19 Sep 2026    Turkiye’s banking watchdog has revoked the operating licence of Iranian lender Bank Mellat’s branch in the Turkish city of Istanbul. “It has been decided to revoke the operating licence of Bank Mellat, Head Office in Tehran, Istanbul Turkey Central Branch,” read the decision by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), published in the Official Gazette on Saturday. Recommended Stories list of 3 items list 1 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/9/18/trump-says-denmark-deal-gives-us-security-control-over-greenland) Trump says Denmark deal gives US security ‘control’ over Greenland  list 2 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/trump-signs-sweeping-russia-sanctions-over-ukraine-war) Trump signs sweeping Russia sanctions over Ukraine war  list 3 of 3 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean) Could US pull one-third of troops from Europe? What that would mean   end of list  The regulator said the decision was taken under a clause of Turkiye’s banking law allowing a bank’s licence to be revoked or withdrawn if its continued operation is deemed to pose a risk to depositors’ rights or to the security and stability of the financial system. Bank Mellat has been subject to Western sanctions for years over accusations that Tehran was pursuing a nuclear weapon under the cover of a civil nuclear programme. Those sanctions were lifted as part of (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/16/from-jcpoa-exit-to-the-2026-deal-how-us-iran-ties-soured-under-trump) a landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. However, the United States unilaterally pulled out of the agreement in May 2018, reimposing economic sanctions on the country. Bank Mellat was hit by further US and Gulf sanctions in 2019 after being named as one of 25 entities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Turkish notice did not cite the US measures or specify operational issues. Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department imposed (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/5/us-imposes-sanctions-on-turkish-bank-prompting-legal-threat) sanctions on a small Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran. The Treasury Department accused Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi (Golden Global Bank) of facilitating “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of transactions for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force” and providing the Iranian government with banking access to move its funds internationally. Advertisement    Golden Global Bank has denied the accusations.            aj-logo             aj-logo             aj-logo       Advertisement          About About   Show more  (https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us) About Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/) Code of Ethics   (https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/) Terms and Conditions   (https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/) EU/EEA Regulatory Notice   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/) Privacy Policy   (https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/) Cookie Policy   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Cookie Preferences    (https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/) Accessibility Statement   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap) Sitemap   (https://careers.aljazeera.net/) Work for us      Connect Connect   Show more  (https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6) Contact Us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help) User Accounts Help   (https://commercial.aljazeera.net/) Advertise with us   (https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected) Stay Connected   (https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters) Newsletters   (https://sat.aljazeera.net/en) Channel Finder   (https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/) TV Schedule   (https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/) Podcasts   (https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/) Submit a Tip   (https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored) Paid Partner Content      Our Channels Our Channels   Show more  (http://aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Arabic   (https://www.aljazeera.com/) Al Jazeera English   (https://www.ajiunit.com/) Al Jazeera Investigative Unit   (https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/) Al Jazeera Mubasher   (http://doc.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Documentary   (http://balkans.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Balkans   (http://ajplus.net/) AJ+      Our Network Our Network   Show more  (http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/) Al Jazeera Centre for Studies   (http://training.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Media Institute   (http://learning.aljazeera.net/) Learn Arabic   (http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en) Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights   (http://forum.aljazeera.net/) Al Jazeera Forum   (https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en) Al Jazeera Hotel Partners        Follow Al Jazeera English: (https://www.facebook.com/aljazeera) facebook       (https://twitter.com/ajenglish) twitter     (https://www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish) youtube     (https://www.instagram.com/aljazeeraenglish/?hl=en) instagram-colored-outline                          (https://www.aljazeera.com/xml/rss/all.xml) rss     (https://bsky.app/profile/aljazeera.com) bluesky     (https://www.tiktok.com/@aljazeeraenglish) tiktok-colored-outline                  (Al Jazeera Media Network logo)   © 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network