Deputy director of Iran’s chamber of commerce, Mohammad Reza Hariri has said that China’s ABC Bank is reactivating suspended accounts of Iranian citizens.

Mehr news agency quoted Hariri on January 29 that the Iranian consul in Shanghai has also officially announced the news.

Earlier, the consulates website had also published a short statement saying that The Agriculture Bank of China (ABC) was gradually reactivating the blocked accounts of Iranian student.

Hariri told Mehr that ABC Bank has issued a new invitation to other Iranians whose accounts were suspended to visit the bank and reopen them.

He added that the Chinese have taken a “new step toward improving” banking relations with Iran and this shows “misunderstandings” have been resolved.

Mehr reported on August 7, 2017 that China in an “unprecedented move is blocking bank accounts of Iranians”. Mehr had cited “international sanctions” as the reason of China’s banking action.

At the time, Assadollah Asgaroladi, the head of Iran’s chamber of commerce claimed that that the move was directed only against individuals and had “nothing to do with Iranian companies”. He also said that some Iranians were using personal accounts for illegal commerce and imports into Iran and the Chinese action was aimed at stopping money laundering.

The news about the lifting of ABC Bank’s restrictions comes days after the Iranian parliament voted to join the UN Convention against Organized Crime (UNTOC).

But in addition to this, Iran needs the blessing of the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF), whose main mission is to fight money laundering and financial resources for terrorists. FATF places Iran beside North Korea at the top of the list of countries with the highest economic and financial risks.

President Hassan Rouhani’s government has said that Iran needs to satisfy FATF conditions in order to fully rejoin the international banking system.