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A Canadian bank cancelled accounts of customers of Iranian origin with no chance to deny they violated financial sanctions, customers have reported.

They allege that TD Bank gave little or no notice before telling customers to take their funds elsewhere.

Customers and supporters said they were targeted because of Iranian names.

TD Bank told the BBC it did not target people based on ethnicity or nationality, but it was required to comply with Canadian law on sanctions.

"This episode shocked us," said Pooya Sadeghi, a real estate agent whose father-in-law's account was closed.