Iran Not to Wait for EU’s SPV Forever: Deputy FM

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyed Abbas Araqchi said Tehran will not wait forever for the European Union to develop the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the mechanism aimed at facilitating trade with Iran in the US sanctions era.

In remarks released on Friday, Araqchi pointed to the EU’s effort to save the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said the European countries have shown their political will but so far, they have failed to develop operational plans to guarantee Iran’s interests in the JCPOA.

Iran is witnessing that there is a lot of pressure from the US and that the technical and legal obstacles on the path are serious, he told IRNA, adding that Europeans are trying to remove the obstacles.

The diplomat further emphasized that the Europeans have failed to introduce “operational solutions” but Iran is not going to wait forever and will make necessary decisions at a proper time.

The European Union has vowed to counter US President Donald Trump’s renewed sanctions on Iran, including by means of a new law to shield European companies from punitive measures.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, the nuclear deal that was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

Trump on August 6 signed an executive order re-imposing many sanctions on Iran, three months after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.

He said the US policy is to levy “maximum economic pressure” on the country.

The second batch of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic took effect on November 4.