Director General of the Foreign Relations Strategic Council: Iran's Action Against Europe's Slowness is Not Beneficial

Abdolreza Faraji-Rad, the Director General of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, states that taking practical action regarding Europe's slowness in establishing a financial mechanism for continuing trade with Iran is not beneficial. In an interview with ISNA, Mr. Faraji-Rad mentioned that if the bills on combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering are approved, it would remove 'the excuse from the Europeans' and Iran could demand the implementation of the financial mechanism. The presidency of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, established by the order of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in 2006, is held by Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign minister during Mohammad Khatami's administration, who has previously expressed similar views regarding the challenges of implementing the EU's special mechanism. Kharrazi stated that if the special mechanism is not implemented, it does not mean that Iran will exit the JCPOA. The bills for combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering, which have been approved by the parliament, are currently stalled in the Guardian Council and the Expediency Discernment Council. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the imposition of unilateral sanctions against Iran, the European Union promised to create a mechanism for continued financial and commercial cooperation with Iran to preserve this international agreement, but this promise has yet to materialize. Now, the Director General of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, referring to U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, stated: 'It is discussed that Iran has obtained a permit to sell part of its oil for six months or to trade with some countries using their national currencies, so the Europeans are waiting to see if there is a possibility to obtain accurate information.' Abdolreza Faraji-Rad emphasized that the U.S. aims to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, stating that the country is 'under economic pressure' but the Americans are also in 'isolation.' He stressed that given that the Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives, 'it is not beneficial for Iran to take practical action in response to the U.S. withdrawal or Europe's slowness regarding the failure to establish and deliver the financial mechanism.' While the U.S. has announced its intention to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero, it has granted temporary exemptions to some of Iran's customers. U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that he does not want the price of oil to rise due to sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile, the U.S. has warned its European allies about launching the special trade mechanism with Iran, describing this plan as Europe's mistake regarding Iran. One aspect of the U.S. effort to prevent the implementation of the special mechanism is lobbying against the acceptance of hosting this mechanism by EU countries, with Austria and Luxembourg being among the countries that have avoided taking on the responsibility of hosting this mechanism.