EU Unable or Unwilling to Develop SPV: Iranian Deputy FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said whether unable or unwilling, the European Union has failed to create the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the mechanism aimed at facilitating trade with Iran in the US sanctions era.
Addressing a conference on regional developments and Iran’s foreign policy in Tehran on Monday, Araqchi pointed to the US moves against the Islamic Republic and said Washington’s pressures aim to prevent the formation of the SPV and cut off ties between Iran and the EU.
The US government has threatened that it would impose sanctions on countries involved in the SPV, the Iranian diplomat added.
“We are faced with a situation in which Europe has not been able or unwilling to establish a mechanism to meet Iran’s demands,” Araqchi noted.
The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.
Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.
The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.