Tehran, Iran, May 13
Trend:
The ball of implementing the financial channel is in the European court, the CEO of Special Trade and Finance Instrument between Iran and Europe (STFI) Ali Asghar Noori said, Trend reports via IRNA.
Noori's remarks came after German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said that part of the problem with the launch of the INSTEX was the Iranian side.
Noori told IRNA that the other parties of the JCPOA, including Europe, are committed to guaranteeing the achievement of economic benefits by Iran.
“We have set up a special joint company specializing in the trade and financing of Iran and Europe in order to help the European side,” he said. “If Europe announces its readiness today, we have no problems in fulfilling our part of the deal."
Speaking of the EU's precondition for Iran to adopt the FATF-related bills, he said that the INSTEX mechanism essentially minimizes that level of banking interconnections, so the FATF-related bills become the second priority.
World powers had agreed in 2015 to lift economic sanctions imposed on Iran in return for Tehran agreeing to limit its nuclear activity to peaceful and civilian purposes.
The agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed between Iran and Russia, China, France, the U.K., and the U.S., plus Germany.
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and intensified pressure on Tehran by re-imposing sanctions targeting the country’s energy and banking sectors.
On Jan. 31, three European countries – France, Germany and the UK (shortened as E3) – officially announced the creation of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), a special purpose vehicle, to allow them bypass US sanctions on trade with Iran. INSTEX facilitates non-dollar trade with Iran, allowing European companies to trade with the Islamic Republic without being hit by the sanctions.