The BMI and the International Persia Bank are now negotiating with the HM Treasury and Financial Services Authority (FSA) for resuming their activities, the report said.
The two Iranian banks were respectively sanctioned in 2008 and 2010 and began negotiations with British authorities for reopening a year ago.
The British officials now wish to make sure that these two Iranian banks have the sufficient monetary funds for resuming banking functions, wrote The Times.

Tayyebnia made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the China Central Television (CCTV).
The state visit to Iran by Chinese President Xi Jinping was a milestone in the bilateral relations between China and Iran, and it will provide a significant opportunity for a series of cooperation in the political, economic and trade areas, Tayyebnia said.
He expressed hope that China will maintain long-term friendly relations with Iran, not to be affected by short-term political and economy factors.
‘I think the state visit to Iran by Xi is a signal for Iran that China is willing to develop long-term strategic relations with us and it provides a great opportunity for cooperation in the political, economic and trade areas,’ Tayyebnia said.
The European Union (EU) last Saturday removed all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran.
When Iran was suffering from sanctions, China was one of few countries to maintain relations with Iran, Tayyebnia said, adding that ‘we cherish the friendship with China, and hope to build a basis for cooperation and enhance cooperation with China in various fields.’
He said that the two countries enjoy complementary advantages in economy and have a broader space in cooperation, especially in the energy sector, and that Iran will become a reliable supplier for China in a long-term energy demand in the future. He also showed his expectation of highway construction.
‘At present, China has the longest railway network in the world and we have been working with China in the highway field, and in the future, we welcome China’s taking part in Iran’s highway projects and other big projects. We are willing to cooperate with China in every area,’ Tayyebnia said.

The New York Times reported from London that the deal is part of a raft of international business that is expected to flow toward Tehran since economic sanctions were lifted.
The daily quoted Stefan Schaffrath, an Airbus spokesman in Toulouse, France, as saying, “We have listened to the Iranians, and we are ready to engage in commercial negotiations.”
“We have been negotiating for 10 months” for the purchase of planes, but “there was no way to pay for them because of banking sanctions,” the Iranian news media quoted Abbas Akhoondi, transportation minister, as saying.
News reports, citing Iranian officials, have indicated that the orders could include dozens of Airbus’s biggest-selling single-aisle A320 jets, as well as several A330 and A350 widebodies, according to the Times.
Iran’s flag carrier, Iran Air, is also interested in as many as eight A380s, according to the report, as well as around 40 regional turboprops built by ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Finmeccanica of Italy.
The orders, which are likely to be partly financed with loans from European export-credit agencies, could be announced this week in Paris during a visit by the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, Akhoondi was quoted saying.

Announcing a two-day visit of a delegation of the Iranian Petroleum Ministry’s delegation to Greece, Zamani-nia said that the agenda of the delegation was to arrange for clearing the debt of the Greek oil firm Hellenic Petroleum to Iran and signing a new contract for oil sales to Greece.

Greece had always been a permanent client of Iranian oil and the refineries of that country, such as that of the Hellenic Petroleum were directly importing Iranian oil, but after the intensification of the anti-Iran international sanctions the oil sales were temporarily halted.

After the termination of the sanctions Greece again announced its decision to import Iranian oil and the details on the deal were discussed during the last week’s visit of an Iranian Petroleum Ministry delegation to Athens. This will be finalized during the Greek prime minster’s visit to Iran.

The Reuters had earlier reported from Athens that the largest Greek refinery, the Hellenic Petroleum, has reached agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for importing Iranian oil as the first European client of the Iranian oil in post-JCPOA era.

The companies are likely to be among the first in Asia to restart trade relations with Iran after the lifting of international sanctions.
Refiners CPC Corp and Formosa Petrochemical will resume imports, bringing them back to contractual volumes that had been previously agreed with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the spokesmen said.
‘We will purchase 2 million barrels of crude oil from Iran at the end of March or early April,’ CPC’s spokesman Ray-Chung Chang told Reuters.
‘It will be the first (Iranian) cargo for us this year.’
Formosa Petrochemical spokesman KY Lin said the company was waiting for a green light from local authorities, but that it did not expect any more restrictions on Iranian crude imports.
‘We have already agreed (with NIOC) on a volume late last year in anticipation of the lifting of the sanctions,’ he said
‘It’s a continuation of our contract.’
Prior to the sanctions, Taiwan imported close to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in 2010, but the volume dwindled to an all-time low of 3,600 bpd in 2014. ‘It’s a continuation of our contract.’
Prior to the sanctions, Taiwan imported close to 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian crude in 2010, but the volume dwindled to an all-time low of 3,600 bpd in 2014.
Last year, the two Taiwanese refiners imported just 2 million barrels each, customs data showed.

It has also opened other accounts with foreign agent banks in Europe and Asia in a bid to facilitate receipt of the funds belonging to concerned Iranian parties, Shana reported.

Since removal of sanctions on January 16 under the nuclear Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Bank Mellat has been establishing connections and opening accounts with foreign banks and in the past few days opened LCs in this regard.

Shana stands for its Persian acronym ‘Petroenergy Information Network’

On Saturday, the Islamic Republic welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping — along with a delegation of three deputy premiers, six cabinet ministers, and a planeload of business executives — with much pomp and publicity.

The two countries announced plans to resurrect the ancient Silk Road that once defined trade across Asia, this time with high-speed trains.

They also agreed to increase trade to six hundred billion dollars over the next decade. Xi, on his first trip to the Middle East, said the deals marked a “new chapter” in relations.

“China and Iran are two important developing countries that must continue regional and international cooperation,” he said.

Xi Jinping also held talks with Supreme Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Then, on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Europe, for four days of talks with his Italian and French counterparts, as well as Pope Francis.

“Landed in #Rome. Looking forward to deepening bilateral ties & exploring opportunities for#ConstructiveEngagement,” Rouhani tweeted.

At Quirinale, the Presidential Palace, he was greeted by an honorary guard.

Iran is a prize catch for Europe, with its sagging markets. Rouhani, the first Iranian President to visit Europe in sixteen years, is expected to sign big deals.

The government already plans to buy more than a hundred passenger planes from Airbus, during Rouhani’s stop in Paris.

Tehran claims that it needs another four hundred civilian aircraft over the next few years.

The Great Race — for what a Western ambassador in Tehran described as “the last gold mine on Earth” — has begun.

With eighty million people, Iran is the largest economy to return to the global marketplace since the Soviet Union’s demise, a quarter century ago.

“The legs of Iran’s economy are now free from the chains of sanctions, and it’s time to build and grow,” President Rouhani tweeted on January 17th, a day after international sanctions were lifted.

“I hope British businesses seize the opportunities available to them through the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran,” British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said when the nuclear deal went into effect, on January 16th.

Air Asia has announced that it is likely to operate two flights per week from its operating base at Kuala Lumpur to Tehran.
Air Asia was a pioneer of low-cost flights in Asia and has an established network of sister airlines including Indonesia Air Asia and Thai Air Asia.
It described Iran as a ‘massive’ opportunity, and planned to resume services to London and Paris if costs made sense.
Speaking at the CAPA Iran Aviation Summit in the Iranian capital, Chief Executive Benyamin Bin Ismail said, ‘We flew to Tehran in the past but had to stop due to sanctions. We are looking to come back and are exploring it again.’
‘(Air Asia co-founder) Tony (Fernandes) sees markets like this as an opportunity…I think Iran is going to be massive for us,’ Bin Ismail said.
Air Asia previously flew A340 jets to London and Paris but halted the service due to high oil prices.
‘London and Paris are still in the plans,’ Bin Ismail said. ‘We have options but need to make sure it doesn’t devalue our yields and that the costs make sense for us.’

Meredov made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Mohammad Ahmadi.

Pointing to the Turkmenistan historical and cultural relations, he expressed hope that the two countries could employ the vast potentials for fostering bilateral cooperation.

Ahmadi, for his part, expressed hope that Iran-Turkmenistan relations could be expanded during his tenure.

Talking to IRNA on Tuesday, he said the British banking system has already issued necessary documents which allow the bank to start operation through its subsidiary branch in London.

He said the operations are due to be conducted through the independent London investment group PLC which is completely owned by Iran Melli Bank and is supervised by the British banking system.

Noting that sanctions imposed a number of restrictions on Iranian financial transactions, he said the bank’s Dubai branch is now ready for such operations.

According to the official, the Iran Melli Bank has 17 overseas branches which are preparing themselves to resume services to customers.

After the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), sanctions on 12 Iranian banks operating outside the country were lifted.