Europe's Mechanism for Trade with Iran to Symbolically Begin on November 4

Western diplomats say that the new mechanism of the European Union to help Iran receive payment for its exports will symbolically begin on November 4, coinciding with the 13th of Aban. These diplomats have stated that this mechanism will not take practical effect until early next year. The date of November 4 marks the start of the second phase of U.S. sanctions against Tehran, targeting Iran's oil industry and aiming to reduce its oil exports to zero. The EU's mechanism, known as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), is designed to preempt U.S. sanctions against banks that facilitate the transfer of funds for Iranian oil exports. The SPV, which could be linked to a barter exchange system, will utilize an intermediary entity in the EU to conduct trade with Iran. This mechanism ensures that, for example, the money from Iranian oil exports to European countries is compensated by the sale of European goods and services to Iran. One European diplomat told Reuters, 'We are trying to establish the SPV before November 4 and are fairly confident we can do it. However, it will not be operational immediately. This will take time, and it may take several months.' According to him, establishing the main office and addressing other serious issues requires effort. Another diplomat mentioned that everything is ready for a symbolic start to show Tehran that the EU is keeping its promises. However, a third diplomat told Reuters that while everything seems to be progressing well, selecting a location for the office is challenging as no European country is volunteering for this task. The EU, along with China and Russia, hopes that despite the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, Iran will remain committed to the agreement. However, Iranian officials have warned that if Iran cannot practically benefit from the JCPOA, there is no reason to remain committed to it. Iran and six world powers reached an agreement known as the JCPOA in July 2015 to resolve Tehran's nuclear program and lift sanctions, but the United States withdrew from the agreement on May 8, accusing Iran of developing its missile program and destabilizing the region.