TEHRAN - Ali Akbar Salehi, director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Thursday that the European Union’s package to save the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will be implemented by end of 2018.

“Based on the promises they have made, we hope that Europe’s offered package will be implemented by end of the current Christian year,” he told reporters.

He added, “One of their plans is SPV [the special purpose vehicle] which is being finalized according to the European officials. It is not easy for the European Union’s 27 member states to reach consensus, however, they announced that they will make any effort to reach this offer [package].”

The SPV is a European Union’s financial initiative intended to protect trade with Iran against newly reimposed U.S. sanctions.

President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. unilaterally from the JCPOA in May and ordered sanctions against Iran. The first round of sanctions went into force on August 6 and the second round, which targets Iran’s oil exports and banks, were snapped back on November 4.

‘EU to do oil trades in euro’

Salehi also said that the EU plans to do all the oil trades with the other countries in euro.

He noted that the U.S. dollar will be isolated in this way.

NA/PA