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EU Announces Strides in Iran Trade Mechanism Amid Nuclear Deal Scramble

Lisa Bryant

   PARIS - The European Union says talks are under way on whether a barter
   mechanism aimed at salvaging some trade with Iran might include oil, as
   Europeans scramble to ease tensions between Iran and the United States.

   Following a meeting among European foreign ministers in Brussels, EU
   foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the special barter
   mechanism with Iran known as INSTEX would be open to third-party
   countries. The mechanism is aimed at working around U.S. sanctions, and
   for now, it narrowly targets humanitarian goods.

   "The issue of whether INSTEX will deal with oil or not is a discussion
   that is ongoing among the shareholders," Mogherini said. "We have
   around 10 member states and some are considering actively dong that."

   Europeans are increasingly alarmed the four-year-old Iran nuclear deal,
   known in shorthand as JCPOA, is on the verge of collapse -- a message
   delivered by France, Britain and Germany as they urged nations to
   resume talks.

   Earlier Monday, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt offered a sliver
   of hope.

   "Iran is still a good year away from developing a nuclear bomb," he
   said. "There is still some closing, but small window to keep the deal
   alive."

   French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Europeans must
   remain united. He criticized Iran's decision on breaching the deal's
   uranium enrichment caps as a bad response to a bad decision by the U.S.
   in pulling out last year.

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