The Russian bank, VTB 24, froze the accounts of Iranian embassy personnel in Russia.

“The bank said that this was an order from their top management, and they couldn’t do anything about it.”-Seyyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi, Iranian Ambassador to Russia

Officials with VTB 24, a division of Russian state owned VTB, tried to downplay any connection to the U.S./European sanctions against Iran, by saying the move was because of a lack of profits being made off the Iranian accounts.