EU and Iran to launch financial facility to ease trade
Five world powers and Iran have agreed to set up a financial facility in the European Union to facilitate payments for Iranian imports and exports, including oil - a key move sought by Tehran following the US pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal and its reimposition of sanctions.
Foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China and Iran said in a joint statement that the Special Purpose Vehicle will "assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran".
They also welcomed that updates to the EU's Blocking Statute and the European Investment Bank's external lending mandate to make Iran eligible entered into force on August 7. The blocking regulations were agreed in 1996 as a countermeasure to the US extraterritorial economic sanctions against Cuba, which EU governments argued benefited US foreign policy interests at the expense of European sovereignty, Reuters reported.
The statute bans any EU company from complying with US sanctions and does not recognize any court rulings that enforce American penalties. The statement said these initiatives are aimed at preserving the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is "in the international interest".
