Iranian Diplomat in Italy to Pursue Efforts to Save Iran Deal

Araqchi told reporters on Thursday that “Tehran has fulfiled its obligations regarding the JCPOA, and reciprocally expects the European Union to fulfil its economic obligations on the basis of political commitments.”

The United States has violated the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, he said, adding that Washington has not only withdrawn from the nuclear agreement, but also encouraged other countries to violate this resolution.

“The JCPOA is a security and non-proliferation agreement, and the withdrawal of the United States from the deal has challenged the security of Europe, the region, and the international relations.”

Araqchi stressed that so far, the EU measures have not led to operational solutions.

The Iranian diplomat is scheduled to meet with several Italian officials and Vatican’s foreign minister during his one-day trip to Italy.

The EU proposed the mechanism to help protect the economic benefits for Iran from the 2015 nuclear agreement that the members of the Security Council plus Germany sealed with the country.

The SPV is a kind of clearing house that could be used to help match Iranian oil and gas exports against purchases of EU goods in an effective barter arrangement circumventing US sanctions, based on global use of the dollar for oil sales, Reuters wrote in its report.

It aims to dodge the global reach of the US financial system by using an EU intermediary to handle trade with Iran. It could ensure, for example, that Iranian oil bought by Europeans could be paid for with EU goods and services of the same value.

The administration of US President Donald Trump launched the second wave of sanctions against Iran from November 5 in which a universal ban on the country’s oil exports is a primary objective.

US officials have already said the sanctions would be meant to bring down Iran’s oil exports to zero. However, Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected the feasibility of this, stressing that international consumers cannot afford to lose Iranian supplies.