President of the Iranian payment channel as well as the European special trade vehicle with Iran are being tested by both sides in a bid to pave the way for their first transactions.
The two main European countries behind the European payment mechanism say they are working at top speed to bring the channel online very soon, preferrably before this Sunday when Iran will announce more commitments reduction.
AFP is reporting that a dinar-based account in Trade Bank of Iraq is supposed to be used to pay for Iranian energy in return for Tehran’s humanitarian purchases.
The Iranian foreign minister says the European payment mechanism isn’t enough but that it’s strategic. Also, the Iranian oil minister says the channel needs Iranian crude money as capital.
The Iranian representative to the UN says if capital is not injected into the European payment channel with Iran, it won’t suffice as it won’t be able to carry out financial transactions.
The European Union has announced that its INSTEX mechanism to facilitate trade with Iran was up and running on Friday.
Three European signatories to the nuclear deal of 2015, Germany, France and the UK, are expected to inject capital into INSTEX to open credit lines for European companies that are interested in doing business with Iran.
The European Union’s External Action High Representative Federical Mogherini has said that the INSTEX is ready to be operational and carry out the first trade exchange with Iran before Tehran’s 60-day ultimatum expires next week.
Mauro Conciatori, who finished his mandate as head of the Italian mission in Iran, visited Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) and held talks with its president Gholam Hossein Shafei on Wednesday 12 June.
Mauro Conicatori, who left Iran on Friday after finishing his five-year mandate as the Italian ambassador to Iran, says the work on the European financial mechanism has advanced and that good news will come out in "some weeks".