Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli calls for Palestinian displacement, backs Egypt's stance    Health minister and Syrian communications minister discuss enhancing digital health cooperation    Saudi Arabia, France sign cultural cooperation program at Versailles    Executive regulations to define exceptions to deportation under amended traffic law    Saudi Arabia's digital sector grows to 389,000 workers with record female participation    Riyadh Metro adjusts start time to 5:30 AM to serve commuters and students    Saudi Red Crescent to implement first aid in secondary schools    Putin rejects Western security in Ukraine, warns foregin troops would be legitimate targets    Two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near US Navy vessel, Pentagon says    Thailand names its third prime minister in two years    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    'My mother was my shelter and storm': Arundhati Roy on her fierce new memoir    Al-Falih: Saudi Arabia expected to host over 1,000 RHQs for global companies in a few years    HONOR to participate in Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 in Saudi Arabia    Restored Big Ben tower up for architecture award    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops redefine learning, creating and gaming    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Skirting US sanctions, Europeans launch trade mechanism for Iran
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 31 - 01 - 2019

France, Germany and Britain have set up a mechanism for non-dollar trade with Iran to avert US sanctions, although diplomats acknowledge it is unlikely to free up the big transactions that Tehran says it needs to keep a nuclear deal afloat.
Washington's major European allies opposed last year's decision by US President Donald Trump to abandon the 2015 deal, under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for Tehran accepting curbs on its nuclear program.
Iran has threatened to pull out of the deal unless the European powers enable it to receive economic benefits. The Europeans have promised to help companies do business with Iran as long as it abides by the deal.
Washington says that, although Iran has met the terms, the accord was too generous, failing to rein in Iran's ballistic missile program or curb its regional meddling.
New US sanctions have largely succeeded in persuading European companies to abandon plans to invest in Iran.
The European trade vehicle was conceived as a way to help match Iranian oil and gas exports against purchases of EU goods. However, those ambitions have been toned down, with diplomats saying that, realistically, it will be used only for smaller trade, for example of humanitarian products or food.
"It won't change things dramatically, but it's an important political message to Iran to show that we are determined to save the JCPOA (Iran deal) and also to the United States to show we defend our interests despite their extraterritorial sanctions," one European diplomat said.
The EU has spent months preparing the system and it will take several months more to become operational.
The Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges, or INSTEX, is registered in France and will be headed by German banker Per Fischer, a former Commerzbank director. The three European powers are shareholders and hope other states will join later, although a senior German official said this was not imminent.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the mechanism was a good first step. The European powers must now establish a budget for INSTEX and define its rules. Iran must also set up a mirror company.
"It seems that Iran should set up the same system inside Iran to organize rial transactions for Iranian companies," Araqchi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The US Embassy in Germany said it did not expect INSTEX to blunt its effort to pile economic pressure on Tehran.
Even as European powers and the European Union have worked to preserve the nuclear deal, relations with Tehran have been worsening. The EU this month imposed its first sanctions on Iran since the nuclear pact, in response to the ballistic missile tests and assassination plots on European soil.
In a symbolic move, the EU added two Iranian individuals and an Iranian intelligence unit to its terrorist list.
The three big European powers are also assessing whether to push for new sanctions on Iran over its missile program, diplomats have told Reuters.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told reporters at an ministerial meeting in Bucharest that European countries shared some of Washington's concerns, but that abandoning the nuclear deal would not help address them. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.