The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Britain announced the creation of a Special Purpose vehicle that will allow Europe to bypass international sanctions that were imposed by the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran. During a E3 summit in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, the U.K. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jeremy Hunt said “The SPV will facilitate legitimate trade under European and International Law. Its immediate focus will be on enabling trading goods by the immediate need of the Iranian people is greatest, i.e. food stuffs, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods. Registration is a big step but there is still more work to be done. The E3 are working closely to address all the technical and legal aspects required to make the vehicle operational. Including working with Iran to establish the necessary counterpart structure.”
According to the statement, London, Paris and Berlin – in accordance with their resolute commitment and continued efforts to preserve the nuclear agreement with Iran – created an Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges, which is a Special Purpose Vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran. While the European powers reaffirmed their continued efforts to provide the Islamic Republic with the benefits of the nuclear deal – they also warned Tehran that European trade remains conditioned upon Iran’s full implementation of its nuclear-related commitments, including full and timely cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. There was no immediate response from the White House to TV7’s request for comment.