The coronavirus stronger than the American sanctions. Faced with the epidemic currently affecting Iran, Europe has decided to bypass them in order to supply medical equipment to Tehran, using the Instex barter mechanism. A first.

"France, Germany and the United Kingdom confirm that Instex has successfully completed its first transaction, thereby enabling the export of medical equipment from Europe to Iran," the German Foreign Ministry said in a communicated.

"Instex will work on other transactions" with Iran and "continue to develop this mechanism," the German ministry said without further details.

Instex, a clearing house

In Tehran, the Iranian foreign spokesman said on March 14 that he had received medical equipment or financial aid from countries like Germany, Azerbaijan, China, the United Arab Emirates, France, Great Britain. Britain, Japan, Qatar, Russia and Turkey.

The government and people of Iran "never forget their friends in times of hardship," he said, as Iran now has more than 40,000 people and has left 2,757 dead.

Instex was created in January 2019 by Europeans to circumvent the American sanctions imposed on Iran by avoiding the use of the dollar. Instex is to function as a clearing house allowing Iran to continue to sell oil and to import other products in return. He had so far allowed no transactions.

With AFP

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