EU was forced to set up INSTEX; Expert

He told Europeans were forced to accelerate the process of lunching the INSTEX after the threat from Iran.

INSTEX, which stands for Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, is a payment system that will allow companies to trade with Iran despite harsh US sanctions. It will function as a diplomatic shield allowing the exchange of goods without requiring direct transfers of money between Iran and EU companies.

"France, Germany, and the United Kingdom informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states, and that the first transactions are being processed," said an EU statement.

An international affairs expert said "For European Union, Iran's nuclear deal (JCPOA) was the most important post-World War II political decision, and this agreement for them actually meant as an independent European."

He added that so in spite of the U.S. withdrawal from Iran's deal, Europe tried to design mechanisms for the implementation of agreement.

"At present, the INSTEX can’t serve as a mechanism to bypass the US sanctions by the Europeans and the mechanism can’t meet Iran’s interests under the Iran nuclear deal," the senior analyst believes.

"Now EU is trying to keep United States satisfied by limiting the financial channel's activities," Nozar Shafiei said. "The US president thinks he will be able to win the election by pressure on Iran but if Iran, Europe and the United States consider the future, this fiscal channel will put an end to all crises.

Seven European countries—Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden—in a joint statement expressed their support for the efforts for implementation of INSTEX.

Just minutes after a meeting of the joint commission, Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) confirmed the reports that the financial mechanism to work with Iran is operational.

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