Despite repeated European promises to implement the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), but until its launch and impact on economic relations, Tehran has continued to reduce its commitments.
On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced the increase in uranium reserves. On the sidelines of a ceremony, in response to a question about whether Iran has crossed the 300 kilograms of enriched uranium, he noted, “As I have found, Iran, according to its plan, has crossed 300 kg of enriched uranium ceiling and we had announced it already.”
The JCPOA has put a 300 kilogram- limit for Iran's nuclear activities and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed in its quarterly 15 reports of Tehran's commitment. But the officials of the Islamic Republic believe that the nuclear deal is being unilaterally implemented.
The promises made by the European Troika to circumvent US sanctions and reduce White House pressures remain only at the level of the slogan, and Tehran has not benefited from the JCPOA. Therefore, the high-ranking officials in the Supreme National Security Council finally, on the basis of clauses 26 and 36 of the JCPOA, concluded that the only way out of such a situation was to reduce their commitment in the nuclear deal until the other party fulfilled its promises.
The anxiety of the other parties made them struggle, perhaps by repeating their promises, to divert Tehran from the path to which they were heading. Thus last Friday, the 12th session of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA with the participation of Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Iranian and Group 1 + 4 political managers along with Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Helga Schmid in Vienna, at the end of which was announced for the first time the launch of INSTEX.
The Vienna statement outlined the progress of the talks, especially article 4, which emphasized the implementation of the European financial mechanism.
Part of this article reads that 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. Ongoing complementary cooperation with the Iranian corresponding entity (STFI), which has already been established, will speed up. They confirmed that some EU Member States were in the process of joining INSTEX as shareholders, the special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate business with Iran. They are also working to open INSTEX to economic operators from third countries
But because of Iran’s perennial adherence to its obligations, the expectations of our country’s officials are more than those that have already been raised and made no result in practice. The Islamic Republic's officials and diplomats believe INSTEX is not a major commitment but an introduction to implement other European obligations.
In this regard, FM Zarif, noting that INSTEX is a preparatory move to fulfill the obligations of Europe repeated many times, said, "The European obligations are stipulated in the JCPOA. Clause 1- 3 of Annex 2 of the JCPOA has explicitly put forward the European actions and the results of the European actions. For implementation of Clause 3 taking action is not sufficient, but Iran must see the results of this action.”
The FM described INSTEX as introduction and ground of 11 European commitments and stressed that the Europeans pledged to guarantee the sale of Iranian oil, which did not. They pledged to guarantee transportation. They also pledged to guarantee the return of Iranian assets and the return of oil revenues. 11 commitments that have been repeated three times.”
Not only Zarif and prominent diplomats who see the implementation of INSTEX as insifficent, but also Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh has a similar view and believes that INSTEX is not accountable without the paying of oil money.”
He stressed at the 176th meeting of the OPEC energy ministers in Vienna, "If they consider INSTEX as an operation, without making sure the money is paid or with a payment of three or four million dollars or euros, this mechanism is not accountable; oil money must to be deposited in it.”
While the European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has announced the start of INSTEX first transactions, some reports suggest that seven European countries including Austria, Belgium, Holland, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden announced to join the financial channel, but Tehran will not withdraw from reducing its commitments until it sees a tangible step taken by the parties of the JCPOA.
Therefore, everyone has to wait for 7 July and the deadline of the second step by Tehran to reduce its commitments and find out whether the Europeans will take practical steps in this remaining days or that they will force Iran to continue the path has taken.
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