MNA – Iranian parliamentary official Amir-Abdollahian said the EU’s positive signals that their trade mechanism to facilitate non-dollar transactions with Iran would be launched by year-end needs “practical measures”.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Special Aide on International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a meeting with Tarja Cronberg, former Chair of the Parliament's delegation for relations with Iran and the current executive director of European Leadership Network.
In the meeting, which was held in Tehran on Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian hailed the EU’s political stance against the US’ unilateral measures, but went on to object to the slow process of the bloc’s measures getting in place.
He stressed that time is of utmost importance with regard to the SPV and it is running out.
The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is EU’s promised trade mechanism with Iran which aims to bypass the US financial system, and avoid any impact of America's secondary sanctions. According to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the instrument is slated to be established “in the coming weeks before the end of the year.”
For her part, Tarja Cronberg noted her constructive meetings with Iranian officials on the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, saying EU is looking for ways to preserve the agreement.
She stressed the EU’s commitment to the JCPOA, saying the agreement is a good model for settling political disputes, and hailed Iran for being among the first countries to promote the idea of the Middle East nuclear weapon free zone.
She further highlighted the significance of preserving the JCPOA by both Iran and the European Union.