Iran needs to set a timeframe for the European Union to enact its measures aimed at protecting Iran against the United States’ sanctions so as to avoid being left in limbo for a long time, a lawmaker said.
“[Iranian officials] should set a deadline and, as soon as it expires, resume the nuclear activities that we accepted to restrict [under the 2015 pact] without appeasement of other countries,” Farhad Falahati said in a recent talk to ICANA.
Under a nuclear agreement signed with major world powers in 2015, Iran agreed to place curbs on it peaceful nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief.
Despite Iran’s adherence to the terms of the deal that has been confirmed by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog in 13 reports, the sanctions were reimposed, this time unilaterally by the US, which abandoned the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the formal name of the nuclear deal) in May.
Other parties have voiced support for the landmark agreement, while only the EU has taken steps to save it by attempting to counter the effects of harsh US restrictions on Iran.
Nevertheless, their proposed strategies have been delayed and no date for the eventual implementation has been specified.
A vital solution offered by the EU is a financial mechanism known as the Special Purpose Vehicle, which aims to keep a channel of transactions open with Iran through a non-dollar system. The SPV was set to be legally in place in November and become operational in 2019, but it is behind schedule.
Same Mistake
Falahati said the process has been drawn out too long due to the absence of a timeframe.
“By setting a deadline and withdrawing from JCPOA upon [Europe’s] failure to safeguard Iran’s interests [by that time], the country’s economic conditions will not get worse than now. But keeping the country’s economy lingering over Europe’s promises will create more problems,” he said.
Referring to the prolonged process of negotiations before the nuclear deal, he said Iran once suffered a loss while waiting for JCPOA to help develop its economy and is making the same mistake today with regard to Europe.
Falahati warned that the EU is now likely to raise the issue of Brexit as an impediment to its efforts to save the nuclear accord, which would further delay the implementation of its plans for at least another year.
Brexit refers to the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU.
Hamdollah Karimi, another parliamentarian, also doubted Europe’s promises on the grounds that it has stronger bonds with the US than with Iran.
“Although the EU has not quit JCPOA, it has not taken an effective measure to uphold Iran’s benefits under the deal,” he told ICANA.
He stressed that merely diplomatic ties with European countries will not be helpful for Iran and connections with European banks and economic enterprises are crucial to sustainable mutual relations.
“More important than Iran-EU relations is their banking and financial cooperation,” he said.
According to Karimi, it is obvious that European banks and businesses do not wish to risk losing the benefits they gain from their relations with the US.
“We cannot pin hopes on European states and a European JCPOA because US-EU ties are stronger [than Iran-EU relations],” he said.
He noted that the nuclear deal might have political benefits for Iran but does not serve the country’s economic interests.
“European governments do not support the US president and reject his proposals against Iran at the UN, but these political relations yield no economic gains for Iran,” he said, stressing that what matters most for the Iranian people is their livelihood.
