The Iranian Central Bank has been cut off the SWIFT financial messaging system, the US Treasury Department has said. Disconnection makes it more difficult for the Islamic Republic to settle import and export bills, RT reported.

SWIFT planned the cutoff for several days, having come under pressure from the US to do so. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the move is “the right decision to protect the integrity of the international financial system.”

Last week, SWIFT said that it would begin cutting off access to several unspecified Iranian banks. More than 70 Iranian and Iranian-linked financial institutions were sanctioned, including a host of banks that allegedly provided services to Hamas and Hezbollah, and others that provided services to the Iranian armed forces.