20 November 2018•Update: 21 November 2018
By Mustafa Melih Ahishali
ISTANBUL
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Tuesday threatened that his country would withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal if his country’s needs were not met.
“The EU countries and the rest of countries committed with the nuclear deal know that Iran will not stay if its economic needs were not met with the framework of the agreement,” Zarif told Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA).
Zarif said EU countries have faced difficulties to find a country hosting the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) system, developed as a financial conversion mechanism not included by U.S. sanctions.
The top Iranian diplomat stressed that all countries have the right to search for alternative ways to protect their national interests.
On Monday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the U.S. threatened countries that considered shifting to SPV system.
In August, the U.S. imposed fresh economic sanctions on Iran, which mainly targeted the country’s banking sector, a few months after Washington withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
The second wave of renewed U.S. sanctions on OPEC's third largest exporter officially started Nov. 5, targeting Iran's energy, shipbuilding, shipping financial sectors.
