US Sanctions Cuban Bank Over Iran Ties

El Capitolio, a landmark in the centre of Havana. File photo, 2009. (Photo: Nigel Pacquette, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

CUBA · SANCTIONS

The United States sanctioned a Cuban bank, the state-owned Banco Internacional de Comercio known as BICSA, on Thursday 15 October for serving an Iranian bank. The US Treasury said the State Department acted because BICSA has provided services to Iran’s Karafarin Bank since at least 2022.

For readers in the United States, the move ties two of Washington’s main sanctions campaigns together, one against Cuba and one against Iran. Any US person or company that deals with the bank now risks breaking US sanctions law.

What Washington Announced

The US Treasury published the news on Thursday 15 October in a release on its campaign against Iranian financial networks. It said the State Department was designating BICSA at the same time, in coordination with the Treasury’s action.

The release says BICSA, based in Cuba, was named under Section 2(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order 14404. The designation rests on operating, or having operated, in the financial services sector of the Cuban economy.

The Iran Link Behind the Move

According to the Treasury, BICSA has provided services since at least 2022 to Karafarin Bank, a bank based in Iran. CiberCuba, a Cuban news outlet based abroad, and Chile’s La Tercera add that Washington had already sanctioned Karafarin in 2020.

The Treasury release does not describe what the services were, how large they were or which accounts were used. It names no other Cuban institution in connection with Karafarin.

Part of Operation Economic Outcast

The Treasury presented the BICSA step beside a wider round under Operation Economic Outcast, its campaign against Iran’s access to the global financial system. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that campaign on 24 August 2026.

The same round targeted an Iraqi bank that the Treasury says gives Iran access to US dollars. It also named two Iranian offshore banks, a Dubai-based oil intermediary and exchange houses that moved hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Treasury.

What Rubio and Havana Said

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration will not tolerate a rogue state hosting hostile operations, according to La Tercera. He wrote on X that communist Cuba had been allowed for too long to act as an outpost for malign actors, including Iran.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez called the step a new aggressive measure against Cuba. He said BICSA is an absolutely legitimate bank, that its transactions in Cuba and worldwide are legitimate, and that Washington is applying collective punishment.

Havana’s waterfront and city centre seen from the water. File photo. (Photo: Herbert wie, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Third Cuban State Bank in Four Months

CiberCuba counts BICSA as the third major Cuban bank blacklisted in under four months. The first was GAESA’s financial arm, Banco Financiero Internacional, on 23 June (see US sanctions on the Cuban bank foreign investors rely on).

Banco Exterior de Cuba followed on 3 September, as in US sanctions that hit Cuba as Havana widened private business. Each step has narrowed the channels through which money can move in and out of the island.

What It Means for You

US citizens and companies are barred from dealing with a blocked Cuban bank. CiberCuba says foreign firms that transact with BICSA could face secondary sanctions.

Exporters, travel companies and investors with any Cuban payment link should ask their banks and lawyers to check the new listing. Remittances that pass through a Cuban bank may become harder to route.

No change to US travel rules for Cuba has been announced. Travellers should check the State Department’s Cuba guidance before booking.

What Is Not Known

Neither the Treasury nor the State Department has said how large BICSA is or how much money it handled for Karafarin. It is also not known whether Washington will issue licences that let existing business wind down.

No further Cuban bank or foreign bank has been named in connection with this step. Havana has not said how it will respond beyond its public condemnation.

More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is BICSA?

BICSA is Banco Internacional de Comercio S.A., a state-owned bank based in Havana, according to the reports on the sanction. It is the Cuban bank that the US State Department blacklisted on Thursday 15 October.

Why did the United States sanction BICSA?

The US Treasury says BICSA has provided services to Iran’s Karafarin Bank since at least 2022. The State Department also cites the bank’s operations in Cuba’s financial services sector.

What does the sanction mean for US companies?

US persons are barred from dealing with a blocked bank, and assets under US jurisdiction are frozen. CiberCuba adds that foreign firms that transact with BICSA could face secondary sanctions.

How did Cuba respond?

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez called the step a new aggressive measure and said BICSA is an absolutely legitimate bank. He accused Washington of applying collective punishment to the Cuban people.

Is this the first sanction on a Cuban bank this year?

No, Washington sanctioned Banco Financiero Internacional in June and Banco Exterior de Cuba in September. CiberCuba counts BICSA as the third major state bank listed in under four months.

Sources: US Treasury, Operation Economic Outcast Targets Iran’s International Financial Networks and Shadow Banking Architecture, 15 October 2026; CiberCuba, EE.UU. sanciona al Banco Internacional de Comercio de Cuba y señala sus vínculos con un banco iraní, 15 October 2026; La Tercera, EE.UU. sanciona al Banco Internacional de Comercio de Cuba por prestar servicios a una entidad bancaria iraní, 16 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error