“We will do what we can to guarantee that there is no economic embargo against Iran and that European companies can continue working there,” said Josep Borrell, EU foreign chief nominee told reporters, Financial Times reported.
“It’s very difficult because US laws applied in an extraterritorial manner, in a way that we don’t recognize, make it difficult,” he said, adding that Spain would join the INSTEX mechanism.
EU foreign ministers have gathered in Brussels to discuss Iran-US tensions and also ways to save Iran nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In 2015 and after years of negotiations, Iran and six other powers signed the JCPOA, which put limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions. However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled out of the deal and re-imposed even stricter sanctions on Tehran.
European signatories to the deal, namely Germany, France and the UK asked Iran to remain in the deal, promising to safeguard Iran’s economic interests under the deal. It took them more than one year to establish a special trade mechanism called INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) which they claim that it has become operational. The mechanism will initially cover trades of food, medicine and medical devices and to gradually include other areas.
Tehran says the channel is not sufficient and doesn’t meet the needs of the country which is faced with severe US sanctions. Iranian officials insist that EU should honor its JPCOA commitments in trading and banking sectors, and should provide the ground for Iran’s oil export.
On the first anniversary of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran announced that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments under the deal step by step, setting 60-day deadlines for the five remaining parties to the deal to take practical measures towards ensuring its interests in the face of the American sanctions.
MNA/PR
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