The Russian platform A7, which specializes in financial transfers, denied in a statement today, Friday, any links to Iran, after the United States imposed sanctions on it, and said that it was helping Tehran evade the sanctions imposed on it as part of an economic exclusion process carried out by US President Donald Trump.
The US Treasury Department said yesterday, Thursday, that it prohibits any transactions with “A7” and its agents, described the company as a “major transnational criminal organization,” and expanded the scope of previously imposed sanctions to include the entire network, according to what was reported by Reuters news agency.
A7, which will be established by the defense sector-focused bank PSB in 2024, has become a leader in the interstate payments market in Russia, at a time when the country is seeking to develop alternative payment systems with its major trading partners such as China and India, through means that include cryptocurrencies, gold and non-Western currencies.
The company said in a statement: “A7 categorically rejects any allegations that it has cooperated with Iran or terrorist organizations.”
It added that it provides “ongoing payment settlements to the Russian market that has been subject to illegal restriction measures.”
The US Treasury Department indicated that the “A7” platform had established a global network of its subsidiaries “to disguise payments related to sanctioned sectors and individuals as normal commercial activities.”
She added that Iran and the Revolutionary Guard benefited from this network.
The company said it provides services for “legitimate import and export operations related to consumer and primary goods.”
About two-thirds of Swiss voters want to abandon an agreement to purchase F-35 fighter jets, after a parliamentary report last month said that allegations that the contract included a fixed price were not true.
In a referendum held six years ago, the Swiss narrowly voted in favor of spending 6 billion Swiss francs ($7.2 billion) to replace the country's aging jet fighter fleet, according to Bloomberg News on Friday.
Lockheed Martin was chosen for the following year to be the supplier, as the Swiss government said that the American aircraft were the least expensive “by a significant margin” in addition to being the best for technical reasons.
In the latest opinion poll, conducted for the Tamedia/20 Minuten newspaper group, only 28 percent expressed their desire to proceed with the purchase, while 65 percent opposed it.
About 400 high schools across France were closed today, Friday, due to student protests that have been ongoing for a week, during which dozens of employees were injured, and the police subsequently arrested about 2,000 people, according to officials, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
The protests began last week in the Paris region before quickly spreading across the country, as students in the final years of secondary school closed the entrances to their schools and clashed with the police.
Students say that school hours are excessively long, and that conditions in schools are inadequate, including high temperatures in classrooms, as well as frequent staff absences.
The government says these complaints are legitimate, but rejects acts of violence.
French Education Minister Edouard Geoffray said, “The movement of secondary school students has become hostage to extremely violent fringe groups,” adding that it is expected that about 400 secondary schools out of 3,700 in the country will be closed on Friday.
Many secondary schools intend to organize distance learning, especially in the city of Marseille in the south of the country.
Jeffray told BFMTV that at least 65 employees have been injured since the movement began, including 40 secondary school principals.
He added: “Parents must bear their responsibilities clearly and tell their children not to go” to the demonstrations.
He continued: “The most important thing now is to ensure that our children do not remain on the streets, because they are at risk.”
For his part, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin said that he asked public prosecutors to hold parents responsible for the damage caused by their children during the protests, and to oblige them “to pay the costs of repairs.”
Darmanin added to RTL radio that about two thousand people have been placed in police custody since the start of the movement, “90 percent of whom are minors.”
