Because the next wave of United States sanctions target financial messaging, Swift now finds itself under pressure from Washington to disconnect from Iran. But it has not done so yet — and time is running out. Those sanctions take effect after Nov. 4.

The Trump administration now has to weigh some tough choices. It could take a hard-edge approach and impose penalties on Swift or the banks and people connected to the entity. But that could unsettle the major financial institutions that own and rely on Swift. The importance of the messaging service is hard to overstate. Swift connects more than 11,000 banks across more than 200 countries, and there is no other entity that could quickly step in and take its place.

But if Swift is allowed to maintain its current connections with Iran, the country’s leaders could exploit Swift to move money in and out of the country. It would also help the European Union’s efforts to keep the Iran nuclear accord afloat.

Here are some of the questions that loom over the Swift battle.

What has the Trump administration so far said about Swift?

President Trump’s national security adviser, John R. Bolton, has taken a hawkish approach to Iranian sanctions. Last month, he said that executives at entities like Swift needed to ask whether doing business in Iran was “worth the risk.”

But the Treasury Department actually oversees the imposition of sanctions, and it has significant leeway in putting them into effect. When asked how it might approach Swift, the Treasury declined to comment specifically on any potential sanctions against the messaging service. In an emailed statement, the agency added, “Regardless of the mechanisms a person or entity tries to use to transact business with a sanctioned Iranian entity, Treasury intends to take action against those conducting prohibited transactions.”