Turkey's banking regulator has revoked the operating license of Bank Mellat, one of Iran's largest private banks, ending 44 years of the Tehran-based lender's operations in the country. The decision was published in Turkey's Official Gazette on September 20, 2026.
The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) cited Article 71b of Turkey's banking law, which allows authorities to revoke a license when an entity's "continued operation poses a threat to the rights of depositors and participation fund holders and to the security and stability of the financial system." The notice did not explicitly reference US sanctions or any specific operational failure at the bank.
Bank Mellat, headquartered in Tehran with the Iranian government as its largest shareholder, had operated a branch in Istanbul for more than four decades. The lender has been subject to US, EU and UK sanctions since 2018, when Washington withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with additional UK sanctions imposed in 2019 over alleged links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to OpenSanctions, an open-source database of sanctions-hit entities.
The revocation comes two weeks after the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Golden Global Bank, a smaller Turkish investment bank, and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to the IRGC's Quds Force. That move was part of a broader US campaign called Operation Economic Outcast, which on September 8 sanctioned 36 targets including 27 Iranian airlines. Turkey and Oman subsequently halted Mahan Air flights following discussions with Washington over compliance with US measures against Iran, according to Iran International.
The decision is notable for what it does not say. By grounding the revocation in depositor protection rather than geopolitical alignment, the BDDK may be attempting to frame the move as a regulatory necessity rather than a concession to US pressure. Bank Mellat had operated openly in Turkey for years despite existing Western sanctions, and its sudden closure signals that Ankara's tolerance for sanctioned Iranian financial entities may be narrowing.
For investors tracking the broader Iran sanctions landscape, the revocation underscores the intensifying US effort to sever Iran's remaining financial networks. Turkey, long seen as a key conduit for Iranian trade and capital flows, is now tightening its compliance posture at a time when Washington is escalating enforcement against entities perceived as facilitating Tehran's access to the global financial system.
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