In case the European Union fails to set up a financial system to ensure continued trade with Iran, the parliament will step in and pass a bill tasking the government to take countermeasures, a lawmaker said.
According to Mojtaba Zolnouri, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, the bill has been prepared by the parliament and will be placed on the agenda “once Europe’s efforts prove to be fruitless”, ICANA reported.
The financial mechanism, also known as Special Purpose Vehicle, is a system proposed by the EU to enable trade with Iran on a non-dollar basis to circumvent the United States’ sanctions on Tehran.
The instrument is part of Europe’s efforts to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal after the US abandoned it last May and resumed its harsh economic restrictions.
As per the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on Iran’s nuclear activities.
To keep the deal alive, the EU, along with other parties, need to take measures to protect Iran against hostile US policies.
EU’s Dithering
The SPV was set to be legally in place by November, when the strictest sanctions affecting the oil and banking sectors took effect, but was delayed largely due to European countries and institutions’ fear of US penalties.
EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said in an interview early December that the mechanism was expected to be activated before the New Year, but they have missed the deadline a second time.
Europe is dawdling over the proposal while Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that the EU’s time for the implementation of the plan is not endless.
Zolnouri said in his Tuesday talk with ICANA that Europe is not serious about establishing the financial channel, as cooperation with Iran in the face of US threats would come at a high price for the bloc.
“The volume of trade between Europe and the US is much bigger than that of Iran-EU … therefore, Europeans have reservations [about launching the system]” he said, implying that they are uncertain as they could risk losing the benefits of trading with the US.
According to Zolnouri, Iranian banks are fully prepared in terms of software and infrastructure for the launch of the system.
"Although Iran seeks to continue negotiations with Europe, it has not placed all its hope on the talks and SPV," he said.
“We rely on our domestic capabilities and on creating bilateral or multilateral financial channels with different countries to return to the pre-JCPOA period if Europe fails to compensate the losses caused by the US withdrawal,” he said.
