Abdolnaser Hemmati wrote on his Instagram on Monday, "according to the announcement made by the Swiss envoy in Iran, the US government has ratified required exemptions for letting Iran use some parts of CBI's assets to supply imports of basic goods and medicine, however, the affiliated procedures have to be put in practice."
He lamented that the US has blocked CBI's access to its financial resources by imposing pressure on countries.
On February 28, the United States and Switzerland finalized the terms of a humanitarian trade agreement.
The US Department of the Treasury claimed that the SHTA is fully operational so that companies can now send food, medicine and other critical supplies to Iran.
This comes after US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said last week that food and drug companies were very much interested in using the SHTA.
The SHTA began trial operations last month during which Novartis, a global healthcare company based in Switzerland, supplied Iran with €2.3 million worth of cancer medicines and medicines needed for organ transplants.
The SHTA aims to ensure that Swiss-based exporters and trading firms in the food, pharmaceutical and medical sectors have access to a secure payment channel with a Swiss bank, by means of which payments for their exports to Iran are guaranteed.
Although food, medicine and other humanitarian supplies are exempt from the sanctions imposed by Washington, the US measures, targeting everything from oil sales to shipping and financial activities, have deterred several foreign banks from doing business with Iran, including humanitarian deals.
MNA/4868020
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