Source: ZeroHedge.com
In the latest shot fired in the growing rebellion against US dollar dominance, the nine-nation Asian Clearing Union (ACU) has agreed to use Iran’s financial messaging system as an alternative to the dollar-denominated SWIFT system that has long served as the globe’s financial nervous system.
“The secretary general of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) says Iran’s financial messaging system SEPAM will replace SWIFT, a dollar-based international system, in trade exchanges between ACU members beginning next month,” Iran’s IRNA News Agency reported.
At a Tehran summit in May, ACU members agreed to establish a SWIFT alternative within a month. The adoption of Iran’s SEPAM will be an interim measure, as the ACU will develop its own messaging system over the next several months.
Established in 1974, the ACU now comprises the central banks of India, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. Belarus and Mauritius applied for ACU membership at the May summit meeting.
Along with Russia and Belarus, Iran has been excluded from SWIFT as part of the US economic sanctions regime. Russia and Iran have established their own alternative connection, linking Iran’s SEPAM with the Financial Messaging System of the Bank Of Russia. In May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told press that “approximately 80% of our mutual settlements are in national currencies: rials and rubles.”
The broad de-dollarization trend is the inevitable result of the US government’s knee-jerk use of economic warfare to punish countries that resist its agenda. The quantity of US sanctions exploded by 933% between 2000 and 2021. …