Page 6 - IRANRptNov18

“That’s what happens”
“The neighbouring countries and European nations have resisted against Washington’s unilateral measures,” he said.
The EU will soon launch a mechanism described as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) aimed at sidestepping the US financial system by using an EU intermediary to facilitate trade with Iran that theoretically will not be exposed to US secondary sanctions.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on October 30 that the Iranian economy was in decline, and said: “That’s what happens when the ruling regime steals from its people and invests in [Syrian President Bashar] Assad—instead of creating jobs for Iranians, they ruin the economy.”
However, the IMF has stated that it is the US sanctions that have pushed Iran into recession. Prior to Trump pulling out of the nuclear deal in favour of sanctions, Iran was on the growth path.
The economic attack on the country from Washington has also sparked roaring inflation and severely undermined the Iranian rial (IRR). It has lost 70% of its value in the year to date.
South Korea, one of Asia’s biggest buyers of Iranian oil but not likely to put up much resistance to Trump’s Iran policy given its reliance on Washington’s military backing in dealing with the nuclear threat from North Korea, said on October 31 that it had requested that the US grant it a “maximum flexibility” waiver to prevent South Korean companies from being impacted by US sanctions aimed at Tehran.
2.2 EU office in Tehran ‘might become reality if Europe helps Iran battle US sanctions’
A senior Iranian MP has said the European Union’s (EU’s) request to open a representative office in Tehran could be granted if Europe offers “certain economic support” for Iran in the face of the second-phase US sanctions aimed at the Islamic Republic, Tasnim News Agency reported on October 31.
Heshamtollah Falahatpisheh, chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission—who serves as the legislature’s lead contact for the project to open an EU office in Iran’s capital—said Iran would be ready to host a representation from the 28-member European bloc if the EU moved ahead with its plans to help the country counter Washington’s economic assault.
“Today, the Europeans are standing alongside Iran in the political arena, and if such backing results in cooperation in the economic sphere as well, I believe that the conditions will be set for the opening of the EU office in our country in the current circumstances,” Falahatpisheh said.
The politician praised the EU for standing up to the US policy of attempting to strangle Iran’s economy to gain concessions from Tehran on its approach to Middle East affairs. On November 5, a second phase of heavy US sanctions, which will seek to block all Iranian oil, gas and petrochemical export sales, will come into effect. Falahatpisheh noted that people should understand that there
6 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com