Zarif: Iran Will Exit JCPOA If European Mechanism Proves Ineffective

According to the official news agency IRNA, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, threatened that "if the special mechanism created by the Europeans is ineffective," Iran will likely exit the JCPOA. Zarif made these remarks on Saturday evening, October 29, during a roundtable at the Islamic Republic's mission to the United Nations. In response to a question about whether Iran's exit from the JCPOA might open the door to military action against Iran, he said: "I think if the U.S. believed it could succeed in such an attack on Iran, it would have already done so." Zarif did not refer to the details of the mechanism desired by Iran or the possible conditions for Iran's exit from the JCPOA. However, the Washington Post did not mention the potential exit from the JCPOA in its report on the roundtable, instead focusing on Zarif's comments regarding the "elimination of the dollar and trading with other countries through their national currencies." The U.S. exited the JCPOA about five months ago and announced it would reinstate lifted sanctions against Iran and would sanction individuals or countries that trade with Iran. However, the other five countries in the nuclear agreement have stated they will remain in the JCPOA. Additionally, in recent months, negotiations have been ongoing between Iran and European countries to preserve the JCPOA and find a mechanism to continue trading with Iran. According to IRNA and the Washington Post, Zarif stated during the roundtable that "the main mechanism is the elimination of the dollar" and that Iran intends to counter U.S. sanctions on its oil sales by selling oil and conducting international transactions in currencies other than the dollar. Zarif also mentioned that several countries have "started to sign agreements to use their own currencies for trade with Iran." Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, expressed hope on Wednesday that the special mechanism to facilitate trade cooperation with Iran would be implemented before "November," about a month from now. The Iranian Foreign Minister also told IRNA on Friday that seven European central banks have agreed to create a special financial mechanism for connecting with Iran. Zarif also quoted Mogherini as saying that this special mechanism is not only for Europe, and other countries and companies can also deposit money into this account and withdraw export costs from it. Iran and European countries' efforts to find a mechanism that can guarantee continued trade with Iran have increased as the second phase of U.S. sanctions against Iran is set to be reinstated on November 4. The U.S. government has strongly warned that it will respond to any companies or countries that choose to trade with Iran instead of the U.S. For instance, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about two weeks ago: "With the arrival of November 4, different rules will apply to anyone who wants to engage in economic activity with the Iranian regime; many countries are already taking steps to leave Iran."