US Secondary Sanctions Impeding INSTEX Implementation: Finnish Ex-Minister

“The US secondary sanction have prevented the EU from fulfilling its obligations. The EU asked for waivers, which the US did not grant. Furthermore, the US has threatened to sanction companies that use INSTEX. Through INSTEX the EU has found a way to at least promote legal trade with Iran regarding non-sanctioned goods such as food and medicine. This is clearly not enough to fulfill the European commitments but is a definite and serious start. If the US carries out its threat to sanction companies using INSTEX, the Europeans face a real challenge in their relations with the US,” Tarja Cronberg told Tasnim.

Cronberg is a distinguished associate fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and former chair of the European Parliament's Iran delegation. She is a Finnish Green League politician who served as a member of the European Parliament from 2011 until 2014. Cronberg was Member of the Finnish Parliament 2003–2007. She chaired her party from 2005 until 2009 and was the Minister of Labour in the Finnish government from 2007 to 2009 as part of Matti Vanhanen's second cabinet.

Following is the full text of the interview:

Tasnim: Iran, which had been fully complying with all of its commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal despite the US pullout and the European shortfalls announced on July 7 that it was set to increase enrichment purity to levels higher than 3.67 percent after the European parties missed a deadline to fullfil their obligations. European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said recently that the signatories to the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), do not view Tehran's move to scale back some of its commitments under the agreement as significant noncompliance. The US, however, is trying to magnify this issue by insisting that Iran is moving toward atomic bombs and that its nuclear program is not peaceful. What are your thoughts on this?

Cronberg: The agreement on Iran’s nuclear program demonstrates that Iran wants to remain a non-nuclear country and controls that the program is peaceful. Therefore, it is important that the remaining partners, including Iran, commit themselves to the agreement. Due to the US sanctions, the other parties (Europe, Russia and China) are unable to fulfill their economic commitments and consequently have agreed that Tehran’s scaling back on its commitments is not significant. Ways should be found for all parties to fully commit to the deal.

Tasnim: US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that Iran “can’t have nuclear weapons”. Iranian officials and experts argue that the US’ main aim is not to halt the country’s nuclear and military programs but to deprive it of nuclear technology and know-how. What are your thoughts on this?

Cronberg: The main aim of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is to prevent non-nuclear countries from accessing nuclear weapons. The Iran deal guarantees this by limiting Iran’s nuclear program for a number of years and after this by Iran’s full compliance with the NPT rules. This should secure a non-nuclear status. The NPT also guarantees that there is a right to peaceful uses of nuclear technology to all members including Iran. These international rules should also be respected by the US, a signatory of the NPT.

Tasnim: As you know, France, Germany, and Britain launched INSTEX in January. It only became operational last month and has been criticized by Tehran for having major limitations. Just 10 EU states are members and the mechanism’s initial credit line of several million euros is a fraction of EU-Iran trade, which stood at more than €20bn annually before the US sanctions. How serious do you think the EU is about this trade mechanism? What is behind this foot-dragging?

Cronberg: This is absolutely not foot-dragging. The US secondary sanctions have prevented the EU from fulfilling its obligations. The EU asked for waivers, which the US did not grant. Furthermore, the US has threatened to sanction companies that use INSTEX. Through INSTEX the EU has found a way to at least promote legal trade with Iran regarding non-sanctioned goods such as food and medicine. This is clearly not enough to fulfill the European commitments but is a definite and serious start. If the US carries out its threat to sanction companies using INSTEX, the Europeans face a real challenge in their relations with the US.

Tasnim: Do you think that the JCPOA could be saved? Do EU nations have enough authority to salvage the international deal?

Cronberg: It can be saved and in my view, the partners- Europe, Russia, and China- should collectively commit and take responsibility to save the JCPOA, the Europeans cannot do it alone. (see https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/commentary/nuclear-diplomacy-at-stake-can-the-remaining-jcpoa-partners-join-forces-to-save-the-deal)