MNA – Former ambassador to Germany, Alireza Sheikh Attar, said the EU’s trade mechanism for Iran, dubbed ‘INSTEX’, will not solve Iran’s economic problems, because the majority of those problems stem from ‘internal mismanagement’.

Speaking to Mehr News correspondent, Alireza Sheikh Attar said there is no serious disagreement between Europe and the United States on the trade mechanism called ‘INSTEX’, designed by the EU for legitimate business with Iran in the face of US sanctions.

EU’s deep economic and military reliance on the US causes Europe to be willing to limit its economic relations with not only Iran but all Middle Eastern countries in order to avoid US punitive measures, he said.

He went on to add that assuming that INSTEX could solve Iran’s economic problems is wrong, adding “because the majority of those problems are caused by internal mismanagement, and only a small part of them are due to foreign sanctions.”

He also noted that the EU’s payment mechanism does not have much confrontation with the US sanctions.

He further reminded that Europe relies on free trade, and if European companies and the private sectors feel that cooperating with Iran would threaten their interests, they would definitely stop their cooperation with Tehran.