Iran in ‘outreach’ to India, China, Russia

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NEW DELHI, May 28, (Agencies): India wants nations that are party to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to engage constructively with Tehran, a government statement said, after the withdrawal of the United States from the pact. The statement was issued after a meeting of Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj with her Iranian counterpart Javed Zarif.

The statement said parties involved in the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, “should engage constructively for peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen with respect to the agreement”. India said it abided by sanctions imposed by the United Nations but not those imposed by any other country, such as those announced by the United States against Iran.

US President Donald Trump this month withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and ordered the reimposition of US sanctions suspended under the 2015 accord. Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said New Delhi’s position was independent of any other country. “India follows only UN sanctions, and not unilateral sanctions by any country,” she said at a news conference.

India and Iran have long-standing political and economic ties, with Iran one of India’s top oil suppliers. Swaraj on Monday met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, in New Delhi to build support against the US rejection of the nuclear accord. “Zarif briefed about the discussions that Iran has undertaken with parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action following the US decision to withdraw from the Agreement,” said an Indian government statement, without elaborating.

India continued trade with Iran during previous sanctions but had to cut oil imports as the sanctions choked off banking channels and insurance cover for tankers. Bilateral trade between India and Iran amounted to $12.9 billion in 2016-17. India imported $10.5 billion worth of goods, mainly crude oil, and exported commodities worth $2.4 billion. India has other interests in Iran, in particular a commitment to build the port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman.

The port is being touted as a way for India to establish trade routes that bypass rival Pakistan. Media reports have speculated India could revive a rupee-rial payment arrangement with Iran to shield exporters from the heat of US sanctions.

Swaraj also said India would continue trading with Venezuela, but there was no plan to use its local cryptocurrency in oil trade. “We cannot have any trade in cryptocurrency as it is banned by the Reserve Bank of India. We will see which medium we can use for trade,” she said.

Meanwhile, Iran’s president will attend a summit with his Chinese and Russian counterparts next month, officials in Beijing said Monday, as they try to salvage the nuclear deal thrown into upheaval by Donald Trump. China, Russia and European powers, all of which signed the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, are scrambling to save the pact following the US president’s decision to quit the agreement and reinstate sanctions.

China’s President Xi Jinping will meet Iran’s Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting on June 9-10 in Qingdao, said Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also attend the summit, he added. Wang did not include the nuclear deal in a readout of the summit’s formal agenda. But Beijing, which is Iran’s top trade partner and one of the biggest buyers of its oil, has signalled that it intends to keep working with the Islamic regime despite the US move.

Chinese businesses are expected to step up activities in Iran to fill the void left by the exit of US companies and the possible withdrawal of European rivals for fear of punitive measures enforced by the US. Iran is currently an observer member of the SCO, though it has long sought full membership. The regional bloc focusing on security and trade also includes four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics and two new members, Pakistan and India.

The summit will discuss a threeyear action plan to “fight the three evil forces” — terrorism, separatism and extremism — and strengthen cooperation on tackling cybersecurity breaches and drug trafficking, Wang said. China will also push for “reforms to the multilateral trading regime” connecting the markets of SCO members, which account for nearly 40 percent of the global population, he said.

China floated the idea of an SCO free trade area in 2016, according to state-run Xinhua agency, but Wang did not say whether it would be part of the agenda. The European Union is seeking to shield the bloc’s strategic and economic interests in Iran in the wake of the US withdrawal from the international nuclear deal, as the EU foreign policy chief insisted Monday that the unity of the member states was unquestioned.

Federica Mogherini said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers that the member states were intensely coordinating their efforts “to protect the economic investments of European businesses that have legitimately invested and engaged in Iran” over the past three years since the nuclear deal was agreed. Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, however, said that Poland opposes any EU actions that would weaken US sanctions.

The US pulled out of the pact earlier this month, and wants to impose tough sanctions on Iran, which also might also have an impact on some European companies doing business with Tehran. European powers say they are committed to keep working together to save the deal because they believe it is the best way to keep Tehran from ing a nuclear bomb. Mogherini insisted the EU was not motivated by business profits in trying to keep the deal alive. “For us, this is not about an economic interest. It is about a security interest,” she said. Mogherini also downplayed reports of friction between Poland and the rest of the EU over how to deal with US President Donald Trump and his hardline stance toward Tehran.

Mogherini contended that the EU as a whole also shared some of Trump’s concerns when it comes to Iran’s role in the Middle East and its ballistic missile program.

Overall though, she said, “the first concern we share is one related to the possibility for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon” and sticking to the nuclear deal was the best way to prevent that. Poland’s Czaputowicz said that if European companies operating in Iran were to suffer losses, a mechanism needed to be found to compensate them. He also said encouraging the continued operation of European companies in Iran could weaken US sanctions, and this could become be a big problem.

He said that those “states that tie their security to United States security” shared views similar to Poland’s given their interest in preserving their trans- Atlantic relationship. Last week, the EU’s executive Commission announced that it will start revising a so-called blocking regulation that was drawn up in 1996 in response to the fallout from US sanctions on Cuba, and on Libya and Iran.

The measure has never been used, but in essence it bans companies from respecting American sanctions where those sanctions might damage EU interests, notably trade and the movement of capital. For the blocking regulation to be used now, it would have to be updated to include US nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. This would take time and runs the risk that any one of the 28 EU member countries could block the move. The EU is also ready to allow the European Investment Bank to help companies invest in Iran.

On top of that, the EU’s energy commissioner is heading to Tehran for talks on boosting energy cooperation.

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