New Network Designed To Bypass U.S. Sanctions On Iran

France, Germany and the U.K. have registered a special channel that will allow them to do business with Iran despite U.S. sanctions, reports Deutsche Welle. 

The three countries will establish a "Special Purpose Vehicle" for European firms to do business with Iran, the German Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. 

The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, or INSTEX, will be based in Paris and overseen by a German banker. The U.K. will head the supervisory board. 

The system will initially be used for non-sanctionable trade, including food, medicine and medical devices, with the potential to expand in the future, reported Al Jazeera (Qatar). 

Further details are expected to be revealed on Thursday during a meeting of European Union defense and foreign minister in Bucharest. 

Entities that do business with Iran will face the effects of sanctions regardless of the networks used to evade them, the U.S. Embassy in Berlin said in a statement. 

The move is part of efforts to salvage the Iran nuclear deal after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. was withdrawing in May 2018. 

Iranian officials have expressed interest in maintaining the agreement with Europe if those countries can maintain business ties and sanction relief brought about by the 2015 deal. 

It may be difficult to maintain Iran's commitment to the agreement if trade is limited solely to humanitarian goods, said analysts.