Iran Press/Iran News: Speaking on the sidelines of Iran's cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Mohammad Javad Zarif asserted that INSTEX must not be turned into a means of Europe performing the orders of United States, remarking that INSTEX is a means for Europe to implement its commitments after US withdrawal from Iran's nuclear deal known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Zarif said that as long as other signatories do not honor their commitments to the JCPOA the Islamic Republic will go ahead with its third incremental step, reducing its commitments to the deal further, Iran Press reported.
Iran took the second step towards the reduction of its commitments within JCPOA, in response to the E3 (Germany, France, UK) commitments to the deal remaining unfulfilled.
The actions are taken already by Europeans, he added, have no compatibility with either their expectations or commitments in relation to the JCPOA, including the selling of Iran's oil, transportation and oil revenues.
"Today's tensions and turmoil [in the region] all originate from the US economic terrorism and in fact Europe's inability to implement its commitments, which is in fact conformity with the very economic terrorism," the Iranian foreign minister said reminding that Iran never left the negotiations, whereas it was the US which left the negotiating table.
He stressed that those who left negotiations and those who remained, both must fulfill their commitments to the international deal, reached in the negotiations.
An economic adviser to President Rouhani, Mohammad Nahavandian, also said that in order for INSTEX to be operational, the Europeans must allow the money gained from Iran's oil exports to be used in the financial channel.
Under INSTEX, which is exclusive to European businesses, exports to Iran should be compensated by imports from the country. A mirror company in Iran would carry out the same transactions for Iranian companies exporting to and importing from Europe.
However, the mechanism, launched after Washington pulled out of an international deal on Iran nuclear program in May last year, has effectively failed to revive bilateral trade mainly due to a lack of advance funds that could offset the initial exports to Iran. 101/211/215
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