EU Says INSTEX Operational

The remaining signatories to the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, announced in a statement that the EU mechanism for trade with Iran is up and running.

The statement, released at the conclusion of the 12th meeting of the Joint Commission on JCPOA, also said the long-awaited trade mechanism, dubbed INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchange), is currently processing the first transactions.

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states and that the first transactions are being processed,” reads an excerpt of the statement published on the official website of the European Union.

The meeting was chaired by Helga Schmid, the secretary-general of the European External Action Service, on behalf of the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, and was attended by representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran.

INSTEX is aimed at facilitating trade with Iran by circumventing sanctions reimposed by the United States after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal last year and said he wants a new agreement on American terms.

It is said that the mechanism obviates the need for the international paying systems like SWIFT to carry out exchanges. Under mounting pressure from Washington, SWIFT decided to remove Iranian banks from its network last November.