France, Germany and Britain sends medical goods to Iran in test of sanctions bypass mechanism

AFP

France, Germany and Britain have exported medical goods to Iran within the first transaction conducted under a trade mechanism found out to barter humanitarian goods and food after the US withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal, Germany said on Tuesday.

The German Foreign Ministry said the medical goods were now in Iran and added that the Instex trade mechanism and its Iranian counterpart would now work on more transactions and on enhancing the system.

Britain, Germany and France said earlier this month that they had offered a 5 million-euro ($5.5 million) package to Iran to assist fight coronavirus there and also are sending medical material, including equipment for laboratory tests, protective body suits and gloves.

Washington’s major European allies opposed the choice by US President Donald Trump in 2018 to abandon the nuclear deal, under which international sanctions on Iran were lifted reciprocally for Tehran accepting curbs on its nuclear programme.

France, Germany and therefore the uk confirm that INSTEX has successfully concluded its first transaction, facilitating the export of medical goods from Europe to Iran. INSTEX and its Iranian counterpart STFI will work on more transactions and enhancing the mechanism.

The European trade vehicle was conceived as how to assist match Iranian oil and gas exports against purchases of EU goods. However, those ambitions are diluted , with diplomats saying that, realistically, it'll be used just for smaller trade, for instance of humanitarian products or food.

The three European powers are shareholders within the Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges, or Instex, and hope other states will join later.

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