Iran still awaits the new European measure to save the nuclear deal

Tabnak – As the deadline is looming for the implementation of a new round of US sanctions against Iran, the European countries are expected to announce the exact measures they’ve devised to continue economic interactions with Tehran. Meanwhile, an atmosphere of hope and fear has dominated the situation surrounding the issue.

In this vein, an Iranian lawmaker says the European package of measures to secure Iran’s benefits from the 2015 nuclear deal would be announced before November 4, when a new round of US sanctions against Tehran comes into force.

In an interview with Tasnim, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s Nuclear Committee Mojtaba Zolnoor said the European parties to the deal have almost reached a conclusion on the measures to neutralize the anti-Iran US sanctions that will take effect on November 4.

Iran and Europe have made decisions on the matter and packages have also been prepared that will be announced before the onset of the US sanctions early next month, he added.

In late September, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made it clear for Europeans that their proposed mechanism for neutralizing the US oil and banking sanctions against Iran must be fully or partly carried out by November 4.

Even if not fully in force, at least the framework of the European mechanism for sustained trade with Iran under the fresh round of American sanctions must be defined until November 4 and part of it should be working, Araqchi said.

The European Union said in September that its members would set up a payment system to allow oil companies and businesses to continue trading with Iran in a bid to evade sanctions after the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

With the United States and the dollar dominating so much of global trade, the statement said the new mechanism would "facilitate payments related to Iran's exports (including oil) and imports, which will assist and reassure economic operators pursuing legitimate business with Iran."

However, some observers believe that whether the special European measure for dealing with Iran is legally and practically feasible is still an open question, especially as for the time being, the work is in a preparatory phase and no details about the planned mechanism have been disclosed.

A source in the European Central Bank has told the Brussel Times that so far, there has been no formal consultation on the plan. “Usually we are consulted on planned legal acts that concern the financial sector but not on other legislative acts and not on initiatives that are outside the formal EU decision-making processes.”

As the special measure would not be a bank, it does not require a banking license from the central bank. It is reportedly supposed to work as a barter system, where Iranian oil would be traded for European goods without money being exchanged.

Some analysts are skeptical that such a mechanism will work. European companies can still be sanctioned for trading with Iran and many of them have already decided not to take any risks.

The companies will have no way of getting money in and out of the mechanism, whatever its construction, without involving the banks. The banks can then in their turn face US penalties.