TEHRAN – INSTEX is a useless mechanism that cannot resolve Iran’s economic problems created by U.S. sanctions, an Iranian lawmaker said on Sunday.

Europe should return to its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) because INSTEX bears no positive effect on Iran’s economy, said Mohammadreza Pour-Ebrahimi, a member of the Majlis Economic Committee.

Pour-Ebrahimi said the recent developments, including the downing of an intruding U.S. spy drone by the IRGC and Iran’s announcement on reducing commitments to the deal, made Europeans feel that they should pay the price for Iran’s remaining in the JCPOA. 

“So they announced that INSTEX had been made operational but this mechanism is not related to JCPOA commitments, rather, it can be a beginning for implementation of the deal,” he added, according to Mehr.

The remarks came two days after the European Union announced that INSTEX was up and running.

“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,” said an EU statement on Friday.

Pour-Ebrahimi described INSTEX as a banking mechanism for merely trading food, medicine and medical equipment, saying, “This is an insult to the Iranian nation.”

“The way Europeans act on INSTEX is not acceptable … Europe should honor its JPCOA commitments in trading and banking sectors with Iran. The export of Iranian oil and products are an important part of the JCPOA.”

MH/PA