How EU’s guarantees to the Iranian regime turned into sanctions

How EU’s guarantees to the Iranian regime turned into sanctions

The European package for Iran

Analysis by PMOI / MEK 

Dec. 12, 2018 - The European package for Iran, the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)—with the goal of circumventing the U.S. sanctions against Iran through a clearinghouse-like mechanism that barters Iranian exports for their European substitutes—isn’t just a solution to the JCPOA question in Iran. The resolution of the JCPOA question will also have far broader effects in the inner-quarrels between the ruling Iranian factions.

The most recent development of Europe’s decisions to implement new sanctions against Iran because of its recent terrorist activities on European soil, particularly in Denmark and France, is a good example.

Keyhan newspaper, close to Khamenei, published an article on December 9 titled “the European Union was supposed to bring guarantees but brought sanctions” and, quoting the Financial Times, writes: “New sources have indicated that the representatives of EU’s member states will discuss the implementation of limited sanctions against Iran in a meeting in Brussels on Monday.”

“On Friday, Western diplomats told the FT that the foreign ministers of the EU will discuss in their next meeting in Brussels sanctioning Iran for claims of Iran’s involvement in actions in Denmark,” Keyhan adds.

“The European side, while expressing outrageous claims against our country’s ballistic missiles capabilities, is already talking about implementing new anti-Iranian sanctions. Unfortunately, the diplomatic establishment is still following the passive and damaging approach of ‘unilateral implementation of the JCPOA at all costs’,” the newspaper continues.

Keyhan further ridicules Rouhani’s approach and writes: “Instead of Europe’s anti-Iranian approach and Europe’s clear resonance with the U.S., senior government officials have declared that ‘Europe is with us!’ and that ‘we have received positive news from the European side!’ and that ‘the European side is planning to compensate for America’s abandoning [of the JCPOA]!’”

Fars news agency, the mouthpiece of the IRGC, also published an article on December 9 titled “The European Union is discussing ‘limited sanctions’ against Iran” and wrote: “The EU claims that it is trying to neutralize the effects of the unilateral U.S. sanctions against Iran… and keep the deal.”

The news agency further quotes a European diplomat saying about the discussion around Iran’s ballistic missiles program and its regional activities: “This shows that our discussions about Iran isn’t limited to the JCPOA, but there are also other parameters.”

In an interview with Iranian national television, Levan Dzhagaryan, Russian ambassador to Tehran, said: “The Europeans just talk and there won’t be anything operational in favor of Iran.”

“European measures to counter U.S. sanctions against Iran haven’t been more than talks and until now there hasn’t been any actions,” Dzhagaryan reiterated.

When the reporter asked the Russian ambassador about how much hope there is that the suggested package will become operational, he answered: “Better ask the Europeans. They were supposed to unveil their suggested package before the second round of the sanctions was implemented but that didn’t happen. In discussions with the Russians, they’ve declared that they are trying to present their suggested package called SPV, but they haven’t yet informed [us] about the mechanism and the implementation timetable.”

While the Russian ambassador doesn’t sound very optimistic about the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle and the European commitment to compensate Iran for the U.S. sanctions, Iranian officials continuously say that they expect Russia and China to act in cooperation with the EU to implement the European package to rescue the JCPOA and help neutralize the effects of the new sanctions.