EU Guarantees for Trade With Iran Amid Sanctions 'on Positive Track'- Diplomat

Iran and the European Union are "on positive track" regarding European countries' reassurances that EU companies can maintain trade with Iran amid US sanctions, the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Center for International Education and Research, Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour, said Tuesday at an event organized by UK-based think tank Chatham House.

"European governments try to create a space for the continuation. How can they be sure about these guarantees, I think, it depends from case to case, but generally, I think, it's on the positive track," Sajjadpour said, when asked what reassurances Iran got from the European countries that EU firms could keep trading with Iran.

READ MORE: UK Will Continue Working With Iran Despite US Sanctions — Downing Street

The statement was made after on Monday, the United States fully reinstated sanctions against Iran, including measures that curb Tehran's oil industry. After Washington announced in May that it would withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions, the European Union said it would work on a special mechanism to continue trading with Iran.

Following the US withdrawal, other participants of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), including Iran itself, China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement.

The European Union came up with several initiatives to keep Iran in the multilateral pact, including a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that it wants to set up with Russia and China to allow any country bypass US sanctions and trade with Iran.