Iran says European barter system 'good omen' but insufficient

A medical aid worker sets up and installs a bed at a shopping mall, which has been turned into a center to receive patients suffering from COVID-19, in Tehran, Iran, April 4, 2020. /Reuters

Iran on Monday welcomed the launch of a European

barter system

to bypass U.S. sanctions as a "good omen" but said it was insufficient in light of Europeans' commitments.

Britain, France and Germany said last week they had carried out the first transaction through the Instex mechanism to deliver medical supplies to Iran, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Volunteers from Basij forces wearing protective suits and face masks spray disinfectant in Tehran, Iran, April 3, 2020. /Reuters

Washington reimposed crippling sanctions on Tehran in May 2018 after withdrawing from an international deal that put curbs on Iran's nuclear program.

In response, the three European countries party to the nuclear deal – Britain, France and Germany – announced the creation of Instex in January 2019. But the implementation of the mechanism has been slow, with Iran and the Europeans blaming each other for the delay.

Instex functions as a clearing house and allows European companies to trade with Iran without exposing themselves to the consequences of U.S. sanctions.

'Iran will never ask U.S. for help'

Mousavi said Iran will never ask the U.S. for help in the fight against the coronavirus.

"Iran has never asked and will not ask America to help Tehran in its fight against the outbreak ... But America should lift all its illegal unilateral sanctions on Iran," he said.

"They (the U.S.) are trying to force Tehran to accept negotiations with America," the Iranian diplomat added.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected offers from Washington for humanitarian assistance for Iran, the Middle Eastern country so far worst-affected by the coronavirus, with 3,739 deaths and 60,500 people infected according to the latest figures on Monday.

(With input from AFP, Reuters)

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