According to The Wall Street Journal, senior US and European officials hope that the measure will drastically cut Tehran's ability to conduct global financial transactions.
The US and EU imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors, respectively on December 31, 2011, and January 23, to ban other countries from doing transaction with Iranian banks, including the central bank, and importing its oil.
The clearing system, known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), oversees the network used by most of the world's largest banks to conduct financial wire transfers.
American lawmakers have charged in recent weeks that Iranian companies and banks blacklisted by the US and EU have been using SWIFT to evade international sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal added that both houses of the US Congress have also drafted a legislation threatening to penalize SWIFT's board of directors and owners if they didn't ban the suspect Iranian entities from using its network.
The paper also quoted unnamed European and US officials as saying that a formal ruling by EU financial regulators on SWIFT is expected by late February or early March, and the SWIFT's board is expected to comply.
