OREANDA-NEWS. New transactions using the European Union’s financial settlement mechanism INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, "Tool for supporting trade exchanges") will take place soon. This was announced on Tuesday at a press conference by the Foreign Minister of Germany, Heiko Maas.

"INSTEX is still in its infancy after the first transaction. We are in close contact with each other, and new transactions will take place as soon as possible", he said. According to Maas, they will relate to the export of goods necessary to restrain the spread of coronavirus. "Ultimately, this is a big, very urgent topic in Iran", the minister added.

"Each individual transaction should and will be carefully monitored to eliminate abuse, especially in terms of financing terrorism and money laundering", said Maas. On March 31, the German Foreign Ministry informed that France, Germany and the United Kingdom had their first deal with Iran to supply medical supplies using INSTEX, which was created in January 2019 to ensure banking operations under US sanctions.