The bank's decision was essentially an economic one based on a reevaluation of the markets, UBS spokesman Serge Steiner told the Swiss news agency ATS.

He admitted, however, that the standoff between Iran and Western powers over Tehran's nuclear activities was another factor in ending business in the Islamic republic, confirming a report Sunday in the SonntagsZeitung.

UBS did not indicate the volume of business it had in Iran, which involved both businesses and individuals. Iranians in exile will not be affected.

UBS also terminated some of its business activities with Syria, but the company spokesman declined to give details about that decision.

Credit Suisse, another major Swiss banking group, said it too was following "with growing concern" the Iranian nuclear crisis.

A spokesman, Georg Soentgerath, said Credit Suisse could not easily withdraw from the country due to its financing of Swiss companies involved in import-export activities with Iran.

Also, the Swiss government always provides a guarantee against the risks of exporting to Iran, he said.

The UBS announcement came as Iran's central bank and foreign ministry on Sunday repeated denials that Tehran was moving its foreign currency reserves out of Europe.

The international crisis over Iran's nuclear program escalated when the Islamic republic resumed sensitive uranium enrichment research on January 10.

Britain, France and Germany have called an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for February 2, as Western countries aim to gather support for referring Iran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions.

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