European countries have completed their first transaction to Iran through a joint trade mechanism, despite the threat of U.S. sanctions that the mechanism seeks to circumvent.
The United Kingdom, France and Germany announced the move on Tuesday through the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, or Instex, founded in 2019. It exemplifies the difference in Iran policy between Europe and the United States, with the former seeking to work with Iran and preserve the 2015 nuclear deal, and the latter exerting a “maximum pressure” campaign since withdrawing from the agreement in May 2018, reimposing sanctions lifted under it, along with enacting new financial penalties.
Although the details of the transaction are unknown, it was “the sale was equipment related to blood treatment from a German exporter and had been in the works for several months,” reported The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, who said that the transaction was worth approximately $548,000.
The equipment is unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic.
Iran is one of the hardest-hit countries by the outbreak of COVID-19. As of Tuesday, there are 44,605 such cases and 2,898 deaths.
U.S. officials were notified of the Instex transaction, according to The Wall Street Journal.
