Iran says EU 'hostage' of US, warns of 'consequences'
Tehran (KNA) - Iran has criticized the European Union for failing to set up a payment mechanism meant to circumvent US sanctions, warning that the bloc should account for the "consequences" of the delay.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran holds Europe definitely responsible for failing to implement the financial mechanism called the SPV," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said late Saturday.
The SPV or the special purpose vehicle is a virtual clearing house which the Europeans have been working on for months to process Iran-related transactions independent of the US but the mechanism has yet to see the light of the day.
So far, the Europeans have failed twice to fulfill their promises to get the system up and running in order to persuade Iran to remain in a landmark 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA after the US abandoned it.
The EU first pledged to make it operational before the US sanctions went into effect in August 2018. Last month, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said she expected the instrument to be established before the end of the year but that date also passed without any explanation.
Source: PressTV