Zarif: European mechanism to skirt US sanctions not enough to save nuke deal

17 February 2019, 3:30 pm

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Iran’s foreign minister says European nations need to do more than talk if they want to preserve a deal meant to keep Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the treaty.

Mohammad Javad Zarif tells the Munich Security Conference that a barter-type system known as INSTEX set up last month by France, Germany and Britain to allow businesses to skirt direct financial transactions with Iran, and thereby evade possible US sanctions, is not enough.

Zarif says “INSTEX falls short of the commitments by the (European countries) to save the nuclear deal. Europe needs to be willing to get wet if it wants to swim against a dangerous tide of US unilateralism.”

— AP