WASHINGTON (AFP) - Luxembourg financial clearing house Clearstream Banking will pay the US $152 million (S$194 million) to settle accusations it illegally helped Iran's central bank access the US financial system, the Treasury announced Thursday.

The Treasury said that in 2007 and 2008, Clearstream held an account in a bank in New York on behalf of the Central Bank of Iran that contained US$2.8 billion worth of securities, violating US controls on financial dealings with Tehran.