On Monday 15 October, the US special representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said the 'special purpose vehicle' (or SPV) the EU wants to set up to enable continued trade with Iran was not useful.
"This Special Purpose Vehicle (...) seems to be wanting to create supply but we don't see much demand for it", he told media, stating that over a hundred companies "have already made clear that they are leaving ahead of November" when the US sanctions are re-imposed.
Hook said that the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, had considered this SPV "sends the wrong message at the wrong time". "We believe that the US and the EU should be working together to find enduring solutions that truly support the Iranian people. We don't think that money to the regime is helping the Iranian people", he said, adding that since the Iranian nuclear deal and the lifting of certain sanctions, Iran's military budget has increased by nearly 40%.
The diplomat said that the Europeans and Americans would continue to work "very closely (...) to address the entire range of Iran's behaviour". Because, while the positions on the Iranian nuclear deal are opposed, Hook said the European ministers and political directors have "the same threat assessment around the key areas around the long-term threat that Iran’s nuclear programme presents", especially with the expiry of the sunset clauses, "the vast expansion" of Iran’s missile programme, and "the billions of dollars" that the country is "pouring" into the regional conflicts.
Hook also spoke about the sanctions on oil, saying that 80% of the Iranian government's income came from the sale of hydrocarbons. Despite the announced end of Iranian exports, the diplomat said he was sure the markets would remain stable. "We'll continue to work in close collaboration with the oil producers. The US is providing its share (of the work) to maintain supply", he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)