Germany: Europe Needs a Payment System Independent of the U.S. to Save the JCPOA

The German Foreign Minister states that if the European Union wants to save the JCPOA, it needs a 'payment system independent of the U.S.' Heiko Maas made this announcement in a note for the economic newspaper 'Handelsblatt,' which is set to be published on Wednesday, August 22. He added, 'For this reason, it is essential to strengthen Europe's autonomy by creating payment channels independent of the U.S.' He emphasized the necessity of a monetary fund and an independent European SWIFT system. The German Foreign Minister also wrote that every day the nuclear agreement with Iran remains in force is better than a potentially explosive crisis that could threaten the Middle East. Heiko Maas had previously warned that U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to reinstate sanctions against Iran could further destabilize the Middle East and empower extremist forces in the region. Germany, along with Britain, Russia, China, France, and the European Union, criticized the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA on May 8 and continues to support the nuclear agreement with Iran, seeking solutions to maintain economic relations with Tehran despite potential U.S. sanctions. The first round of U.S. sanctions against Iran went into effect on August 7, targeting Iran's access to dollars, metal trade, coal, industrial software, and the automotive industry, despite requests from its allies to postpone them. The U.S. has announced that the next round of sanctions, starting on November 4, will target Iran's oil industry and is currently working to reduce oil imports from this country to zero among its allies. European countries have repeatedly urged Iran to adhere to the provisions of the agreement despite the U.S. withdrawal and promised to encourage their companies to continue business relations with Iran while minimizing the effects of U.S. sanctions. However, many large European companies have exited Iran, stating they are unwilling to accept the risks of trading with Iran and facing potential U.S. penalties. In this context, the German state railway announced on August 16 that it would halt two of its projects in Iran within a month. Earlier, the German automaker Daimler had announced that it would stop its business activities in Iran following the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions against Tehran. Previously, Donald Trump tweeted that 'anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the United States.' The exit of large European companies from Iranian projects occurs as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif recently stated that 'expectations from Europeans are much higher than this. They must pay a price for the continuity and preservation of the JCPOA, and this has not yet happened, meaning that beyond political support, operational actions must be taken.' He emphasized, 'Europeans have a month or two until the main sanctions, and as I said, they must pay a price, and currently, a positive trend is prevailing.'