Speaking to the local media on Friday, Larijani pointed out the three main flaws of INSTEX, adding that he believes the delay to launch the mechanism was “calculated” by the Europeans since “they were supposed to respond in two or three weeks, but, in coordination with the US, they decided to wait for the economic conditions in Iran to become exacerbated.”
Three European countries, France, Germany, and the UK, announced the establishment of a mechanism to help facilitate trade with Iran, which demands economic benefits for staying in the 2015 nuclear deal.
The new proposal, labeled as “Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges” (INSTEX) will supposedly allow Iran to barter for European goods in transactions that steer clear of financial networks and do not rely on the US dollar.
“This is a narrow channel and does not provide Iran with the JCPOA’s advantages. According to the UN resolutions, sanctions should not include food and medicine and supplying them through this trade channel couldn’t be considered as a surprising measure taken by Europe. The main issue with respect to JCPOA is lifting the existing enormous sanctions.”
Iran’s HR chief further added: “all the promised measures have been put merely on paper and it is not clear yet if they are going to be put into action or not.”
“Furthermore, it seems that the European trade channel will start working, as claimed by Europe, under the condition of immediate ratification of FATF bills,” he noted.
Larijani called on the government not to do any deal “merely based on credit” like nuclear deal; saying “I recommend that Mr. President demand the Expediency Council that they postpone considering Palermo bill and other bills related to FATF for a few months so that we could see if the promises made by European officials would be executed or not.”