BRUSSELS ( AP) — The SWIFT global financial transaction service said Thursday that it was cutting ties with Iranian banks that are subject to European Union sanctions aimed at discouraging the country from developing nuclear weapons.

The action effectively enforces EU sanctions because the world’s financial transactions are impossible without using SWIFT, and it will go a long way toward isolating Iran financially.

The company’s name stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is a banking hub crucial to oil, financial transactions and other trades.

Comments are not available on this story.