‘INSTEX Implemented Too Late, Can’t Secure Iran’s Interests’

Mohammad Ebrahim Rezaee, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, says unfortunately the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) has become operational too late after months of delays by the European sides.

“At present, the INSTEX can’t serve as a mechanism to bypass the US sanctions by the Europeans and the mechanism can’t meet Iran’s interests under the Iran nuclear deal,” he said in an interview with Tasnim.

He also called on the government not to pin all its hopes and goals on the Iran nuclear deal and added the INSTEX fails to provide Iran with an opportunity to access its oil revenues and facilitate the Europeans’ participation in projects inside Iran.

The lawmaker underlined that the Europeans can’t be trusted when it comes to the implementation of the INSTEX. “The mechanism doesn’t meet Iran’s interests in all areas and the Europeans have been seeking to kill time by making hollow promises.”

“The Europeans have not yet given a full guarantee to Iran on bypassing the US sanctions. Establishing a special financial mechanism between Iran and Europe is not hard at all but the main problem is that the US hampers efforts in this area,” he said.

Rezaee expressed doubt about the future of the INSTEX and said Iran’s diplomatic apparatus should receive enough guarantees from the Europeans before implementation of the financial mechanism.

“We should not pin our hopes on the Europeans.

They always make hollow promises and there is no will on their side to implement the financial mechanism,” he concluded.

Earlier, the European Union announced that its INSTEX mechanism to facilitate trade with Iran has become operational.

“France, Germany, and the UK informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states, and that the first transactions are being processed,” said an EU statement.

INSTEX is a payment system that will allow companies to trade with Iran despite harsh US sanctions. It is meant to function as a diplomatic shield allowing the exchange of goods without requiring direct transfers of money between Iran and EU companies.