- Iranians holding Ashura mourning for Imam Hussein
- Third step: Iran officially informs EU of plan to expand nuclear R&D
- Iran expands nuclear R&D program: Rouhani
- Iran goes ahead in space tech, despite US sanctions: ISA
- Resistance Front undermining Israeli regime power: Top commander
- Iran: 7 crew members of detained UK ship freed
- US addiction to sanction threaten its power: Iran’s Zarif
- Dutch role in 2007 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear site under scrutiny: Iraian FM Spox.
- Iran: ‘Sustainable Security 2019’ kicks off in Caspian Sea
- Iran’s Zarif leaves Tehran for Moscow
- Shiraz University ranked 1st in liver transplantation: Iranian health official
- Japan’s Abe to meet Iran’s president to discuss easing tension in region
- Downing of US spy drone shattered war threats against Iran: Top IRGC commander
- IAEO head reports development of first ion-therapy hospital in west of Asia
- Iranian Taekwondo team wins 2019 World Cup championship
- US sanctions failed to force Iran to buckle: Report
- Crew fixing Iran oil tanker broken down in Red Sea
- As Iranians hold nerves, US seeks to scare off trade
- Leader expresses concern about Kashmir, urges India to follow fair policy toward Muslim-majority region
- Iran saffron exports down due to smuggling, government restrictions: Exporter
- Iran FM warns US against ‘serious miscalculation’ in Persian Gulf
- Iran’s resistance policy led to release of oil tanker: MP
- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
- Iran official calls for compensation for tanker seizure
- Iran hails N Korea for standing against ‘unilateral’ US demands
- Shia Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Ghadir
- North Korea praises Iran’s anti-US struggle
- Zarif says to meet French president Friday
- Iranian court hearing case of UK oil tanker
- Over half of Japanese voters oppose joining US-led anti-Iran coalition in Persian Gulf: Poll
- IME trade ups by 21 percent in July
- Finland backs INSTEX in defiance of US
- US anti-Iran policy in high seas harms Europeans: LA Times
- Iran, China confer on Syria
- Iran, Finland share views on Persian Gulf dialogue forum: Zarif
- Iran warns US against seizure of oil tanker
- Iraq eager to benefit from Iranian Police’s experience
- Iran planning 3rd step to reduce nuclear commitments: Spokesman
- Leader grants clemency to over 1,000 Iranian inmates
- Registration for Arbaeen Pilgrimage to begin in Iran on Friday
- Iran, Iraq agree to reopen Khosravi border crossing
- Iran deplores suicide attack at Kabul wedding hall
- Iran to hold int'l hand-woven carpets expo
- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
- Adrian Darya oil tanker not under any sanctions, says Iran envoy
- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
- Iran’s annual export of white meat tops 2.5m tons: Minister
- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
- Iran, Ansarullah, European representatives Yemen developments
- ‘Iran to become self-sufficient in producing aircraft engines'
- US issues seizure warrant for Iranian supertanker 'Grace 1'
- Neanderthal tooth unearthed near Iran’s Zagros mountain
- Iran’s Zarif due in Kuwait on Saturday
- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
- US threatens visa ban as Iranian-operated tanker sets to sail from Gibraltar
- Enemies must factor Iran's global power in their calculations: IRGC's chief commander
- Trump’s administration conflicting messages to Iran baffle go-betweens: Report
- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
Sunday, 20 December 2020_Iran says the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), the financial mechanism proposed by Europeans to enable Iran to get round US sanctions, has failed to prove itself effective in the past two years.
Majid Takht-Ravanchi, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, made the remarks on Saturday in reaction to the UN secretary-general’s 10th report on the implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers – the US, the UK, China, Russia, and Germany.
Based on the historic deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to restrict parts of its nuclear energy program in return for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed on the country, mainly by the US.
However, in May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and re-instated the anti-Iran sanctions that had been lifted under the accord.
Iran then threatened to pull out of the deal unless other parties to the JCPOA make up for the reimposition of the US sanctions. The European parties proposed the INSTEX as a special purpose vehicle to circumvent the US bans. However, it has been used only in a very small number of transactions so far.
“The system must prove its efficiency after two years,” Takht-Ravanchi said in his Saturday remarks, highlighting the European countries’ promise to guarantee that Iran will reap the economic dividends of the JCPOA if it remains in it.
After the European parties failed to live up to their commitments to Iran, namely protecting their business ties with Tehran against the American sanctions, Tehran was prompted to go for retaliation on May 8, 2019, exactly one year after the US ditched the multilateral pact, when it began to suspend parts of its commitments on a stage-by-stage basis under Articles 26 and 36 of the JCPOA.
In his Saturday comments, the Iranian ambassador to the UN said Iran’s reduction of its nuclear commitments was a result of the other parties’ violation of the deal and was within Iran’s rights under the JCPOA.
Iran, however, has made it explicitly clear that once the US returns to the JCPOA and lifts all the sanctions, it is ready to reverse all the steps it has taken to reduce its commitments.
Your Comment