Ambiguities persist on the exact nature of EU’s SPV to save the Iran nuclear deal

Tabnak – Despite intensive talks having been held between Iran and the European parties of the 2015 nuclear deal, there are still ambiguities on the exact nature of the mechanism under formation by the EU to preserve the deal. Intra-European developments further add to these ambiguities.

In this vein, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that the European Union has developed to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is not only about supplying medicine and foodstuff to Iran.

Speaking at a weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday, Bahram Qassemi said the financial mechanism which the EU has devised to facilitate trade with Iran includes a variety of items.

The SPV is aimed at meeting Iran’s demands for various imported articles in a new way, the spokesman said, adding that the mechanism would not be launched only to address needs for medicine and foodstuff.

European countries led by France, Germany and Britain -signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal- want to enable non-US trade with Iran to continue in defiance of Washington. The EU has devised the SPV to continue trade with Iran and neutralize the US sanctions against Tehran.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Qassemi said Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union would not have any impact on its role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Any discussion on Brexit is an internal issue of the UK and the European Union and would not cause any disruption to the role of the parties to the JCPOA, Qassemi said.

He said Brexit would give the UK a status like that of China and Russia in the JCPOA, noting that the British government will still remain one of the nuclear deal parties that liaises with Iran and is committed to saving the agreement.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which 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, including the EU/E3 (Britain, France and Germany), launched talks to save the accord.