Group of EU Nations Working to Establish Trade Channels With Iran - Statement
Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden said in a statement on Friday that they were working with France, Germany and the United Kingdom to establish channels to facilitate trade and financial transactions with Iran to bypass US sanctions
In late January, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom announced the registration of INSTEX, a special-purpose mechanism payment mechanism that would allow countries to work around US measures and continue trading with Iran. The decision to set up such a tool was made after Washington withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as Iran nuclear deal, and reimposed harsh sanctions on the Islamic republic.
"We are working with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as with the European External Action Service and the European Commission, to establish channels to facilitate legitimate trade and financial operations with Iran, one of the foremost of these initiatives being the establishment of Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges," the statement, published by the Dutch government, said.
The countries noted that the work of the trade mechanism would depend on how Tehran respected its obligations under the JCPOA.
The United States unilaterally left the nuclear deal on May 8, 2018. Precisely one year later, Iran announced that it had partially discontinued its commitments under the JCPOA and gave the European Union two months to ensure Iran's interests under the deal. If this demand is not met, Tehran has said it will be ready to take further measures to scrap the accord.
The European participants of the JCPOA, as well as Russia and China, have repeatedly stated that they support preserving the agreement.