Iran 's central bank has established a special cell to fight back against Western economic sanctions that the institution's chief described as "no less than military war," the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.

"We have established a headquarters in the central bank, which meets on a daily basis" and whose task is "to manage the sanctions," Central Bank Chief Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted as saying.

"In times of sanctions, we need to carry out asymmetrical economic warfare, which we have begun...or else we would face difficulties and obstacles," he said.

Mr. Bahmani didn't provide any details on the cell or its strategies.

Mr. Bahmani added that "all of our banks and the central bank are currently under sanctions, but we are doing our work."

Iran is increasingly feeling the effects of U.S. and European Union sanctions on its economy that have been ratcheted up since the beginning of July. The U.S. sanctions target financial transactions worldwide involving Iran 's central bank.

The measures are hurting Iran 's all-important oil exports, according to the International Energy Agency, which sees crude sales dropping 40%.


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