Squeezing Iran BIG TIME

Under orders from the EU, Swift has taken the unprecedented step of cutting off its financial messaging network to Iranian banks subject to European sanctions.

Got that? A major method of sending notice on the transfer of money into and out of Iran has been cutoff.

Previously, Swift had described any decision to turn off the tap to Iran as "a complex situation that needs to take into consideration the implications to the functioning of the global payments system as well as to the continued flow of humanitarian payments to the Iranian people".

From Wikipedia:

The majority of international interbank messages use the SWIFT network. As of September 2010, SWIFT linked more than 9,000 financial institutions in 209 countries and territories, who were exchanging an average of over 15 million messages per day SWIFT transports financial messages in a highly secure way, but does not hold accounts for its members and does not perform any form of clearing or settlement.

SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer, rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled via correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other. Each financial institution, to exchange banking transactions, must have a banking relationship by either being a bank or affiliating itself with one (or more) so as to enjoy those particular business features.

Bottom line: Cutting SWIFT is pure evil. It will hurt pretty much anyone dealing in international transactions out of Iran.