Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Morteza Saffari Natanzi told Mehr News correspondent on Wednesday that European countries are making a lot of effort to put the promised trade mechanism, officially known as Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), in place, adding that their efforts are however undermined at every level under the US pressure.
He said two countries had earlier agreed to host the SPV, but the United States threatened their bank and forced them to back away from their decision.
Saffari then noted that a new proposal has been made to establish the SPV at a judicial institution in a European country so that the Americans would be unable to intervene.
“If this happens, the trade mechanism will be soon in place,” he added.
The trade mechanism is part of the EU’s efforts to encourage Iran to remain in the nuclear deal following the unilateral withdrawal of the US back in May, by offering an alternative payment channel to keep trade flowing with Iran in defiance of US sanctions. According to EU's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the mechanism will come into effect by the end of December.
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