EU studies new payment model with Iran to circumvent US sanctions

A new "ad hoc entity" will be created that could act as a stock exchange or a sophisticated trade-in system. A system open to other partners, like China and Russia. Brussels’ objective is to "protect the freedom of economic operators". Doubts among experts: Washington will also target this model.

Teheran (AsiaNews / Agencies) - After the US exit, countries wishing to keep the Iranian nuclear agreement alive – which include China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the EU in addition to Tehran - intend to set up a new payment system .

The aim is to circumvent the American sanctions and the prohibition of the use of the dollar in transactions, thus keeping business - which has grown exponentially in recent years - with the Islamic Republic alive.

The system should facilitate oil companies in particular, allowing them to continue trading without having to rely on the global market and the US currency. EU sources - at the forefront in promoting  the new model - report that this "ad hoc entity" could act as a Bursary or a very sophisticated exchange system, which allows companies to circumvent the sanctions imposed by Washington.

Last May, US President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal from  (the JCPOA) nuclear agreement strongly wanted by his predecessor Barack Obama, introducing new sanctions against Tehran,  "the hardest sanctions in history" . A decision that caused a significant drop in the Iranian economy and a collapse in oil sales; it was primarily the weakest and most vulnerable part of the population to pay the costs.

The head of EU diplomacy Federica Mogherini stresses that the new payment channel should "reassure the economic actors who have undertaken legitimate trade with Iran". Speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the EU leader added that "European companies will continue to trade with Iran in accordance with EU law". The system will also be "open to other global partners".

Mogherini announced the new payment system after discussing it with the remaining member countries involved in the nuclear agreement [Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia] at the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. The front that opposes US sanctions emphasizes in a note that the goal is "to protect the freedom of their economic operators" in order to "pursue legitimate business with Iran".

In the coming weeks, technicians will discuss the details that will govern the new payment mechanism. However, there is no shortage of doubts from some experts that the United States will not fail to respond by including this new model of payment in the sanctions scheme, to achieve the ultimate goal of "isolating" the Islamic Republic from the rest of the economy of the world.

After all, under the US threat, several global companies - including the French oil giant Totale and Daimler - have stopped all activities with Tehran in fear of reprisals.

• iran
• eu
• united states
• economy
• sanctions
• trade
• dollar
• poverty
• oil
• crude