Recounting western deceptions | The European deception with a mechanism called INSTEX

Pars Today – After the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) in May 2018, the European Troika and the European Union promised to neutralize the negative impacts of Washington’s unilateral sanctions against Iran in exchange for Iran remaining in the JCPOA.

According to Pars Today, following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, the European Troika and the European Union made numerous promises to Iran about neutralizing the effects of unilateral American sanctions to persuade Iran to remain in the deal. After proposing several solutions to counter U.S. sanctions against Iran, the Europeans ultimately introduced the SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle), which was the final proposal offered by Europe to Iran and the last episode of Europe’s betrayal in 2018. During the JCPOA 1+4 meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Federica Mogherini, the then-EU foreign policy chief, stated that the mission of this special mechanism was to facilitate payments related to Iran’s exports (including oil) and imports.

Finally, on January 31, 2019, the European Troika announced in a statement the "registration" of the Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges with Iran, or INSTEX. Although it was initially expected that INSTEX would counter U.S. sanctions and secure Iran’s benefits under the JCPOA, the statement by the three European countries proved that this assumption was incorrect.

First, the statement emphasized that the launch of INSTEX would begin with humanitarian trade — meaning it was only intended to cover commerce in the areas of food, medicine, and medical equipment. This limitation implied that it would not extend to trade in items sanctioned by the United States.

Second, the registration of INSTEX in Europe as a private company indicated that European governments were unwilling to provide political support for this mechanism.

Another major obstacle to the launch of INSTEX was the issue of financing and providing funds to settle Iran’s potential purchases from Europe. Since the Europeans had fully aligned with the U.S. oil sanctions and were no longer buying oil from Iran, the Iranian government had no financial resources in Europe to fund the INSTEX account. The Europeans did not stop there, however; they also tried to use INSTEX — which in reality amounted to nothing — as leverage to pressure Iran into fully implementing the FATF action plan.

What has remained in the historical memory of the Iranian nation under the name of INSTEX is a symbol of European incapacity and deceit. The Europeans have never been independent of the United States and should not be regarded as independent actors. Their role and function in the nuclear deal has been to keep Iran tied to the JCPOA and to consolidate the imbalanced conditions against Iran, while working to complete the U.S. policy of maximum pressure. This role continues to this day and can also be seen in the matter of their threats to trigger the snapback mechanism.

On July 31, 2020, Ayatollah Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, referring to the empty promises of the Europeans after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, stated:

“The latest initiative of the Europeans was a ridiculous toy called INSTEX, which, of course, never materialized. In summary, INSTEX meant that Iran should hand over the money it is owed from other sources to the Europeans, and they, in turn, would purchase whatever goods they deemed appropriate and send them to Iran. This is the meaning of INSTEX. It is something harmful and wrong — and even this they have not carried out.”