UN Chief Reminded by Iran’s Envoy: INSTEX Has Failed

Date: 20 December 2020 - 21:12

News ID: ۸۵۶۸۸

UNITED NATIONS (Dispatches) -- Iran says the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), the financial mechanism proposed by the Europeans to enable Iran to get round U.S. sanctions, has failed 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.
The resolution endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of the U.S., the UK, China, Russia, Germany and France.
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.
However in May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and reinstated 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 made up for the reimposition of the U.S. sanctions. The European parties proposed the INSTEX as a special purpose vehicle to circumvent the U.S. 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 would reap the economic dividends of the JCPOA if it remained in the accord.
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 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 move was the result of the other parties’ violation of the deal and within the rights of the Islamic Republic enshrined in the JCPOA.
Iran, however, has made it explicitly clear that once the U.S. returns to the JCPOA and lifts all the sanctions, it is ready to reverse all the steps it has taken to reduce its commitments.
The Iranian ambassador’s remarks came after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres underlined the need for preserving the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, urging the world countries to engage in trade ties with Tehran based on Resolution 2231.
He hailed the nuclear deal as a testament to the effectiveness of multilateralism, diplomacy and dialogue, saying the agreement was the best way to ensure a comprehensive, long-term and proper solution to Iran’s nuclear issue and to help promote regional and international peace and security.
Guterres further expressed regret at the unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, saying the reimposition of anti-Iran sanctions is contrary to the goals set by Resolution 2231.
Other measures taken by Washington to restrict activities authorized under the JCPOA may impede the implement of UNSC Resolution 2231, he added.