EU’s Mechanisms for Trade with Iran to Be Finalised in Coming Days: Germany

The remarks were made by Director of the Political Directorate-general of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office Antje Leendertse in a meeting with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi in Tehran.

In the Wednesday meeting, the two sides discussed a range of bilateral and international issues, including the latest status of the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.

They particularly talked about the efforts made to deal with the effects of US sanctions on Iran after its withdrawal from the 2015 deal known as JCPOA.

Leendertse and Araqchi also underlined the urgency of implementing these solutions, particularly the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), as soon as possible.

The German side stated that the European countries are aware of the importance and urgency of the matter, have been working intensively on various aspects in recent weeks, and are trying to finalise the mechanisms in the next few days in consultation with the Iranian side.

She also stressed that some parts of the mechanisms would become operational after taking priorities into consideration.

Araqchi, for his part, expressed Iran’s strong objection to the arrest of Assadollah Asadi, a diplomat at the Iranian embassy in Vienna, by the German police and his extradition to Belgium.

The Islamic Republic will follow up the issue through political and legal channels to take appropriate action, he said.

During the talks, the two sides also underlined the need for maintaining close consultations to address regional and international issues and resolve problems in bilateral relations and efforts to develop economic, commercial and banking ties.