Expert: INSTEX only weakens Iran's decision making

The European countries have launched the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) to help Iran's trade, however it's not clear how much this financial channel can boost Iran's economy.

"The current diplomatic situation of the country is not desirable although some European countries have launched INSTEX mechanism for bartering with Iran, but it is not able to improve the unstable economy," Iranian economist Mahmoud Jamsaz told Trend in an interview.

"The government has decided to reduce their commitment in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and announced that it would increase the uranium enrichment from 3.67 percent to 5 percent and then to 20 percent. This created concerns in the European countries such as Germany and the UK," he indicated.

"The UK has warned Iran to halt uranium enrichment. So, the evidence shows while Europe is claiming to cooperate with Iran, it violates the obligations and follows the US," he added.

" The US has called for the UN Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors meeting over the issue that is not in the interest of Iran, what is clear is that INSTEX only weakens Iran's decision making. Meanwhile, Iran does not accept the current INSTEX, since it does not include oil and oil products sales, so it's not useful for Iran's economy," he added.

"Although Iran's oil minister has said that the Americans and Europeans are no aware of the ways that Iran is selling its oil, through bypassing sanctions, yet there is strong opposition against Iran's oil sales," said Jamsaz.