Page 10 - IRANRptAug19

2.7 Iran says Instex operational, needs work
Iranian deputy foreign minister has said Instex, and its Iranian counterparty is finally operational, stressing its future capital should be provided by oil revenue, according to the government’s website on July 6. Iran, losing its patience with the European Union after several perceived long delays, finally confirmed earlier this week the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for sales of goods was active, and the EU and finally placed a nominal amount of funds in the account.
“Instex is a good base for trade exchanges, but its implementation has become very lengthy, and there aren’t revenues in this mechanism unless the Europeans buys oil from Iran or opens credit lines for Iran-Europe exchanges,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a press conference on July 7 in Tehran.
He was answering questions during a government presser in which Tehran announced the second phase of reduction of its nuclear commitments, increasing low-level nuclear enrichment to 5%.
“Instex has become operational finally. One or two small pilot trade exchanges have been carried out, but it will not be enough if credit [lines] are not opened,” Araqchi added.
The deputy FM mentioned that a growing number of other countries are also willing to join Instex as shareholders, but said that if the EU doesn’t begin real trade, the country will continue scaling down its commitment to the nuclear deal signed in 2015.
He added that other channels are being developed with several other countries both near and far, and Europe’s Instex may become superfluous
“We have had initiatives with China, Russia, Turkey, India and other regional countries. One of those initiatives is Instex. No one has pinned all their hopes either on the EU, or Instex, but we will use every possible channel to lower the pressure [because of US sanctions],” he added.
A few days earlier on June 30, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Majid Takht Ravanchi, said that “I believe that INSTEX in its current condition isn’t enough . T his mechanism without capital is like a beautiful car without fuel,” "The Europeans asked us to remain in the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]. We waited a year as they requested, but we told our European counterparts that they need to take tangible steps to maintain the nuclear deal. Mere statements in support of the pact don’t resolve our problems,” he added during a one-hour press briefing that was held at Iran’s permanent mission at the UN in New York.
“We can’t wait for more. We are not threatening anyone. We haven’t given ultimatums to others. We have told them our plans that if they don’t do anything, we will reduce our commitments. We will take new steps if they live up to their commitments or responsibilities,” added the permanent Iranian representative to the UN.
10 IRAN Country Report August 2019 www.intellinews.com