‘Iran Working on Forex Plans Independent of INSTEX’

The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) says the country has plans to work independently from the European Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), which has so far failed to help Iran reap the benefits of the Iran nuclear deal in the face of the US bans.

Criticising the problems of the financial channel, Abdolnaser Hemmati said the INSTEX needs some modifications.

He noted in a post on his Instagram page that the INSTEX is only a limited part of the central bank’s strategy in the foreign exchange market, and several other programs are being implemented in the field of foreign exchange ties.

“While the operational infrastructure of a mirror Iranian mechanism, named STFI, proportionate to the INSTEX has been thoroughly completed by the Central Bank, reports signal Europe’s speeding up of efforts to make the INSTEX operational,” said Hemmati.

“The INSTEX must work within the framework of the JCPOA and not based on the US sanctions regime. All of the transactions that are allowed within the framework of the nuclear deal must be feasible through the INSTEX. It may initially include all non-sanctioned goods, but then its scope should be extended to all commodities.”

Hemmati further noted that the resources of this mechanism must be supplied through oil exports to Europe, and if Europe temporarily has some excuses not to buy the Iranian oil, a long-term credit line with a future oil refinance will be an interim solution.

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