Germany, France and the UK are setting up a transaction channel with Iran in a bid to thwart US sanctions and continue business with Tehran. For now, the non-dollar trade is said to be limited to humanitarian goods only.
The new payment system is called INSTEX – short for “Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges.” It will reportedly be based in Paris and managed by a German banking expert, German media say. The UK is expected to head the supervisory board.
At present, EU countries have limited the channel to the sale of humanitarian goods such as food, medicine and medical devices to Iran, which are technically exempted from US sanctions. Despite the exemption, many pharmaceutical and agricultural companies stopped trading with Iran under the threat of secondary sanctions. (RT)