Iran Press/Europe: The launch of INSTEX—or 'Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges'—by France, Germany, and the UK will allow non-dollar trade with Iran and is being described as facilitating humanitarian goods-related transactions only, including food, medicine and medical equipment, Iran Press reported.
Following months-long preparations, foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain finally unveiled the mechanism--officially called the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX)--on Thursday following a summit in Bucharest.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Drian (L), UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (C) and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas give a press conference on Iran at the Informal Meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers at the National Bank of Romania headquarters in Bucharest January 31, 2019. (Photo by AFP)
"France, Germany and the United Kingdom, in accordance with their resolute commitment and continued efforts to preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) endorsed by United Nations Security Council resolution 2231, announce the creation of INSTEX SAS (Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran," the three foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
They also underlined their commitment 'to pursue the further development of INSTEX with interested European countries to make this instrument in support of trade exchanges with Iran operational by following the steps set out above.'
Iran will also need 'to create an effective and transparent corresponding entity that is required to be able to operationalise the mechanism,' it added.
France, Germany and the UK are the initial shareholders of the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran, which has been registered in the French capital, Paris, with a capital of 3,000 euros, and will be governed by a German banking expert, according to AFP and German media.
Shortly after the announcement, the EU's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who has been leading the bloc's efforts to keep the Iran deal alive, issued a statement in support of INSTEX, said: "The instrument launched today will provide economic operators with the necessary framework to pursue legitimate trade with Iran."
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany).
Earlier in the day, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi described the launch as 'the first of a set of commitments to Iran that the Europeans must fulfill,' expressing hope that mechanism will not be left incomplete.
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Araghchi: INSTEX expected to cover trade in all kinds of goods
The payment system, he said, could 'fully meet our interests only when it is accessible to non-European firms and countries...so it could cover our entire international purchases,' adding that this feature 'is apparently slated to be realized in the next phase.'
Details about how the mechanism functions will be put to talks in the future expert-level meetings between Iran and Europe, Araqchi added. 103
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