Defying US sanctions, 6 European countries join barter system to trade with Iran

France, Germany and Britain welcomed six new European countries, on November 30, for joining a barter mechanism designed to bypass US sanctions against trade with Iran. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are latest to join the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) which was founded by the three countries to trade with Iran by avoiding the use of the US dollar.

“As founding shareholders of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), France, Germany and the United Kingdom warmly welcome the decision taken by the governments of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, to join INSTEX as shareholders,” said the three countries in a joint statement.

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Commitments under JCPoA

INSTEX founding countries reiterated Iran’s obligations to fully comply with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), commonly known as Iran nuclear deal. “We reaffirm our readiness to consider all mechanisms in the JCPoA, including the dispute resolution mechanism, to resolve the issues related to Iran’s implementation of its JCPoA commitments,” read the statement.

Earlier, Iran had announced resumption uranium enrichment activities after it restarted an underground lab in Fordow. Ali Akbar Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), said that Iran is producing at least 5.5 kilograms of low-enriched uranium, which is almost 12 times what the country had been producing before the underground lab started. The announcement raised concerns among European Nations and the US and that latter was quick to declare lifting of sanction waivers for the nuclear plant at the site. 

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'Proliferation implications'

French, German and UK Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative also released a statement ealier calling Iran’s action as inconsistent with the JCPoA’s provisions on Fordow. In a joint statement, they said that the resumption has “potentially severe proliferation implications”.

“We urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the JCPoA, including exceeding the maximum allowed low enriched uranium stockpile and the maximum allowed enrichment limits, and not respecting the limits set by the JCPoA on nuclear R&D activities,” the joint statement read.

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