Iran Unveils Financial Channel Parallel with INSTEX

Iran registered a mirror company for the European special payment channel INSTEX (the Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges) on Tuesday.

The channel, called Instrument for Finance and Trade between Iran and Europe (IFT), was registered on March 19.

A group of Iranian state and private banks as well as some companies are the mechanism’s stakeholders.

The company has been set up and registered due to “non-stop efforts of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI)”.

The first phase is expected to be limited to the trade of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and agri-foods.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on January 31 on the creation of the INSTEX.

Following the statement of the three European countries, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet, “Iran welcomes #INSTEX — a long overdue 1st step — in E3 implementation of May 2018 commitments to save JCPOA by ensuring dividends for Iranians after US’ illegal re-imposition of sanctions.”

Hours later, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said that the special financial mechanism for trade with Iran was a first step which should be followed by quicker implementation of the EU’s May 2018 undertakings.