(S) REACTION TO IRANIAN BANK SUBSIDIARY DESIGNATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 001508 SIPDIS E.O. 19528: DECL: 11/13/19 TAGS: KNNP EFIN IR MY FR SUBJECT: (S) REACTION TO IRANIAN BANK SUBSIDIARY DESIGNATION CLASSIFIED BY EMIN SETH WINNICK FOR REASONS 1.4 B & D REF: STATE 115135 ¶1. (C) On November 12, Embassy delivered demarche on subject designation to MFA DAS-equivalent for non-proliferation Martin Briens. He said he expects more Iranian banks to try to open foreign subsidiaries to ease some of the pressure of UN sanctions, including in countries at Europe's doorstep such as Turkey. He expressed the view that the EU should take this into account in their next review of sanctions. In a separate conversation, an MFA colleague with responsibility for FATF asked whether there is USG interest in a further initiative on Iran at the February 2010 FATF plenary. RIVKIN