The denial, issued on 22 August, was made in response to comments from the Iranian government which suggested the bank was backing the deal.

The head of Iran's regional railway authority, Yusef Geranpasha, was quoted by state news agency IRNA as saying that the World Bank had agreed to provide the funds to electrify the rail network in Iran.

Geranpasha had said the World Bank loan was related to a €1.2bn deal that Russia and Iran signed in November 2015 to electrify the Garmsar to Inche Burun route in Iran.

However, a spokesman from the bank commented: “In response to recent media reports, the World Bank is not considering financing the electrification of Iranian railways.

“The media reports were based on incorrect information. The World Bank currently has no projects under implementation in Iran and is not currently preparing any project.”

The IRNA is now carrying a story that a Russian bank is financing the €1bn scheme.