WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday granted a license to allow for certain humanitarian trade transactions with Iran’s sanctioned central bank, a move it said was in step with the formalization of a Swiss humanitarian trade channel.

The newly created channel, which the U.S. Treasury Department said became fully operational on Thursday as it granted the license, would allow for companies to send food, medicine and other critical supplies to Iran. (This story corrects to say trade, not aid, in headline and first paragraph)