In an interview on Sunday, Bahram Ghasemi expressed regret that Europe’s proposed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has not become operational due to “limitless American” pressure and said “I hope Europe will be able to defend its identity in the face of these pressures."
In the interview Ghasemi added that Iran is still hopeful the European trade mechanism will be put in place, but he added that at the same time Iran has many alternatives for trade, such as India, China, Russia and Turkey.
"Although we still hope that Europe would fulfill its obligations, Tehran has also tried options other than SPV mechanism with various countries, including China, Russia, India and Turkey.
"We think Europe is incapable of standing against US growing pressures regarding the promised financial mechanism for financial and trade exchange, and it does not have the ability to defend its identity and financial and economic institutions in the face of these pressures," he noted.