Iran Says Europe’s INSTEX of No Use to Date

Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali says Europe's special financial mechanism, which was supposed to facilitate trade with Iran in the face of US sanctions, have been of no use since its launch.

Despite the fact that more than a year has passed since the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) was launched by Europeans to bypass the US sanctions on Iran, no transaction has been carried out through the mechanism yet, Jalali said.

“It was Europeans who launched it, but until today and now that I am talking to you no transaction has been carried out through this channel,” RT quoted Jalali as saying.

The special purpose vehicle, known as INSTEX, was launched in January 2019 by three European major powers Britain, Germany and France in order to save Iran’s nuclear deal with the six major world powers after US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal in 2018.

After the launch of INSTEX, six other European countries Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden also joined it.

However, Iranian officials say it hasn’t been effective at all.

Due to the spread of the coronavirus in Iran, the country seems to need INSTEX more than ever, while it seems unlikely that the “vehicle” will be able to be used very soon.

In response to European inaction, Iran has rolled back its commitments under the JCPOA over the past few months.

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