Tehran, Sept 24 (ZEENEWS.COM) Iran described a US ban on its bank Saderat as politically motivated, the official Islamic republic news agency reported today.

"Barring bank Saderat of Iran from dealing with US financial institutions is politically motivated," the agency quoted Davood Danesh Jafari, Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, as saying.

Iranian banks are barred from directly accessing US financial institutions, but they are permitted to do so through banks based in other countries. On September 8, the US treasury department made a regulatory change to prevent bank Saderat from using that indirect access.

Following the US move, three top Japanese banks said they would halt their dealings with bank Saderat.

Jafari said the ban would fail because "the world is currently trying to facilitate and promote trade and deals between countries."

The Iranian minister accused the US of trying to distract public attention from what he called the "victory by Hezbollah over Israel" in month-long fighting between the guerrilla group and the Jewish state in Lebanon.

Last week US treasury secretary Henry Paulson, attending meeting of group of seven finance chiefs in Singapore, said Iran was involved in financing terrorism and used front companies to obtain technology to support terror and procure weapons of mass destruction.

The US treasury said since 2001 a Hezbollah-controlled organization had received USD 50 million directly through bank Saderat.