With the European Union’s failure to officially launch its mechanisms to counter the United States’ sanctions against Iran, it is essential for the country to actively pursue economic diplomacy and bolster domestic economy to alleviate the pressure, a lawmaker said.
Iran came under US sanctions once more after US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the 2015 multinational nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May.
To save the accord, European signatories proposed to establish a financial mechanism, known as the Special Purpose Vehicle, to maintain trade with Iran on a non-dollar basis.
However, the EU has so far failed to formally put it in place even as the package of US sanctions has become complete with the Nov. 5 enactment of restrictions on Iranian oil and banking sectors.
In her latest comments, EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, told reporters on Monday that she could not provide a precise date for the system’s implementation.
In a talk with ICANA, Amir Qazizadeh Hashemi, a member of the Majlis Presiding Board, pointed to Mogherini’s announcement and expressed regret that Europeans do not take Iran seriously on the international stage.
Lack of Commitment
“Western countries have taken no practical step to implement the JCPOA and shown total lack of commitment to their pledges,” he said, adding that the Europeans do not seem to want to set up the SPV.
The SPV is set to act as a clearinghouse that could be used to help match Iranian oil and gas exports to purchase EU goods, circumventing US sanctions on the global use of the dollar for oil trading.
In view of this inaction, Hashemi said Iran needs to work toward economic independence to cope with pressures and threats.
“Along this line, resistance economy policies … should be pursued immediately,” he said.
Resistance economy is a way to withstand sanctions through reliance on domestic capacities and reducing dependence on oil and raw material exports among other strategies.
Hashemi also pointed to the US negotiations with other countries to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, stressing that Iran needs to counteract.
“It is essential that our economic diplomacy also be active to stand up to that of the Americans and prevent its impacts,” he said.
Economic diplomacy involves using a full spectrum of a country’s economic tools to safeguard its national interests. This includes calibrating foreign commercial and financial relations to buttress a state’s foreign policy.
Hashemi stated that when the US abandons the deal unilaterally, Iran should resume its nuclear programs as per the terms of the deal.
