Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Ghassemi said although we still hope that Europe will fulfill its obligations under JCPOA, Iran pursues different options with other countries like Russia, China, India and Turkey.
Referring to Europe's procrastination in establishing an independent financial mechanism for trade, known as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Bahram Ghassemi said in interview with IRIB that "Iran does not necessarily follow a single channel or mechanism, we have pursued different paths and fortunately, we are in an excellent position."
Ghassemi added that 'although Europe has not managed to formally activate its package or so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on time, we still hope that Europeans can still continue this path and fulfil their obligations', according to an Iran Press report.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman also said: "As Iran's top officials have stressed previously, despite pursuing this way as a duty to show our commitment to dialogue, both political and economic dialogue, given the 40-year history of our Islamic revolution, we have not and shall not tie our destiny to these issues."
Earlier on 24 December, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifasked the Europeans to speed up SPV launch. Zarif warned that Iran is not handcuffed in dealing with the situation, saying: "Tehran has multiple options on the table which could be brought into action if Europeans do not honor their JCPOA promises soon."
The special purpose vehicle (SPV) is part of the EU’s efforts to encourage Iran to remain in the nuclear deal following the unilateral withdrawal of the US back in May, by offering an alternative payment channel to keep trade flowing with Iran in defiance of US sanctions.