France, Germany taking charge of EU-Iran trade move but oil sales in doubt
PARIS/BRUSSELS/VIENNA - France and Germany are to take joint responsibility for an EU-Iran trade mechanism to minimise the risk of US punishment but few now believe it will cover oil sales, heightening fears for the fate of the landmark international nuclear deal with Iran.
Diplomats said the French-German gambit is a "safety-in-numbers" tactic to overcome the refusal of individual EU states to host the mechanism to sidestep the risk of being targeted by the revived US sanctions regime against Iran.
But with US threats of retribution for sanctions-busting unrelenting, they told Reuters that the goals of the nascent trade mechanism could be scaled back to encompass only less sensitive items such as humanitarian and food products.
That may well fall short of what Iran's moderates wish for to fend off anti-Western hardliners demanding Tehran ditch the 2015 nuclear deal which they opposed in the first place.
