The spokesperson, who is not named by convention, made the remarks during a press conference in response to IRNA correspondent’s question whether the UK, as a member of the Iran nuclear deal, was willing to remove obstacles against expansion of its trade ties with Iran.
Companies and business in the UK that have no interests in the United States, thus no concerns over anti-Iran sanctions, are increasingly eager for partnerships in Iran. UK-Iran yearly trade exchanges amount to 180 million pounds, while informal figures show up to 400 million pounds.
Iran and the UK have great capacities in energy, agriculture, engineering services, transportation, transit, medicine and medical equipment and non-oil exports, among other things.
A source close to UK-Iran chamber of commerce told IRNA that the UK’s trade laws with Iran were not limited to humanitarian goods, as the UK Department for International Trade issues customs documents for every good deemed legal by the law. But when it comes to the transfer of financial resources, British banks don’t cooperation for fear of US sanctions.
INSTEX was a financial tool devised by France, Germany and the UK to facilitate financial transactions with Iran without being trapped in sanctions. However, banks were intimidated by the US and pressured to reveal all their transactions which led them to the simplest choice: non-cooperation.
Asked if the UK government takes any measure to facilitate trade with Iran for the companies interested, Johnson’s spokesperson confirmed positively, saying that London was long supporting legitimate trade with Iran and continued working towards mechanisms to facilitate the process.
However, the official gave an important assessment of resuming implementation of the JCPOA and reaching in a deal in Vienna to remove the aforementioned obstacles.
The spokesperson said that progress in this issue is the best path forward which would turn not only trade ties but also all dimension of bilateral ties between Iran and the UK into a secure place.
Iran and the P4+1 began talks in Vienna, Austria, for a possible return of the US to the JCPOA about 1.5 years ago, but the talks entered a stall when the US refused to remove all sanctions imposed after its withdrawal from the deal in 2018.
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