EU Fails to Loom U.S. Sanctions on Iran

The EU has struggled to find a member state to host a new financial channel to shield trade with Iran from looming U.S. sanctions. It was the latest hurdle to the bloc’s efforts to save a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran, Financial Times reports. The Europeans want to set up a “special purpose vehicle” to process Iran’s import and export payments once Washington clamps down on the country’s central bank and oil industry on November 5. The US action is part of an economic squeeze on Tehran after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 international atomic accord in May. The interlocutors of the newspaper note that European governments are afraid of Washington’s restrictive measures in the event that a “special purpose vehicle” will be created in their countries. The Financial Times says that Iran, despite U.S. sanctions and delays in the implementation of its business with Europe, will continue to export oil to China and other countries. Exports may be reduced from 2.8 million barrels per day to one million barrels, but Tehran will maintain its foreign exchange earnings at a sufficient level. However, earlier it was reported that the leading Chinese state-owned oil companies Sinopec Group and CNPC did not buy oil from Iran because of possible violations of U.S. sanctions. Source: svoboda.org