Iraqi: Europe is Unable to Register Financial Mechanism for Iran

The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister announced that due to "very heavy pressure" from the United States, no country has yet agreed to host the financial mechanism between Iran and Europe, and the EU is "unable" to officially register this mechanism. According to ISNA news agency, Abbas Araqchi stated on Tuesday, November 19, in a speech that after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Europe has been "seriously" trying to meet Iran's demands in various areas, including oil and banking. However, Araqchi noted that due to "very heavy pressure" from the U.S., Europe has not been able to officially register this financial mechanism. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized that due to "U.S. threats," no country, including Austria and Luxembourg, has been willing to host this mechanism. He also stated that Iran has remained in the JCPOA so far due to political and economic interests, but this situation "will definitely not last, and the Europeans must understand that this situation cannot continue in this way." Araqchi had previously identified the dominance of the dollar and the U.S. financial system over European institutions as one of the reasons for the delay in launching the special financial mechanism. Meanwhile, informed sources in the European Union had previously told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that none of the 28 EU member countries are willing to host this special mechanism. The EU mechanism, known as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), is intended to circumvent U.S. sanctions against banks that facilitate the transfer of funds for Iranian oil exports. The SPV, which can be linked to a barter exchange system, utilizes 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 offset by the sale of goods and services from Europe to Iran. The implementation of the so-called special mechanism to maintain economic relations with Iran was announced in early October 2018, following a meeting related to the JCPOA in New York, by Federica Mogherini, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister. Since then, speculation about this special mechanism has been ongoing. Washington at that time described such a decision by its former partners in the nuclear deal with Iran as a wrong message at the wrong time to Iran. The United States is determined to implement and make effective its maximum pressure campaign on Tehran. Meanwhile, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, stated on Tuesday, October 30, without going into details, that the implementation of the European proposal package to Iran is contingent upon "possible de-escalation" between Iran and the U.S.