TCF Bank has sent letters to about a dozen Iranian students at the University of Minnesota to inform them that the bank plans to close their accounts, the Star Tribune reports.

TCF Financial Corp. has a special financial relationship with the university that gives the Wayzata-based company the exclusive right to offer checking accounts that are linked to the university's photo ID cards, and more than 30,000 students and staff have the accounts, the newspaper notes.

The bank defends the letters, noting that it routinely monitors – by law – transactions that might have violated federal sanctions.

But at least some of the students have made no transfers and have spotless banking records, the Star Tribune reports. The students sought the help of Prof. William Beeman, who doesn't believe the bank's explanation. "The irregularity might be that they're Iranian," he told the Star Tribune.

The U fo M's Twin Cities campus has 67 students from Iran, most of whom are working toward Ph.D.s, the newspaper reports.