INSTEX Not Translated into Reality Yet: Iran

In a meeting with the Chairwoman of the Foreign Policy Committee of the French National Assembly Marielle de Sarnez in Tehran on Saturday, Larijani said despite several rounds of negotiations held between Iran and the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to preserve the Iran nuclear deal has not yet been realized.

“When there is no appropriate ground for banking ties, how can Iranian and French firms press ahead with their economic activities?” Larijani said.

The parliament speaker went on to say that France’s Total company was among the first foreign firms which left Iran after the US unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal back on May last year.

For his part, the French senior lawmaker said Paris is seeking to preserve the JCPOA and is making efforts to implement the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX).

“Efforts are underway to preserve the Iran nuclear deal,” she added.

After the US withdrawal from the Iran deal, the European Union set forth the INSTEX to keep its economic ties with Iran amid the US sanctions. But over one year on, the mechanism has not yet been implemented. Iran has warned that preserving the JCPOA requires multilateral efforts by all remaining signatories of the deal.