31/03/2020 (Agence Europe) – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom confirmed on Tuesday 31 March in a press release from the German Foreign Ministry that the Instex mechanism, which has been operational since the end of June 2019 (see EUROPE 12286/7), had “successfully” concluded its first transaction “facilitating the export of medical goods from Europe to Iran”. “These goods are now in Iran”, they said, without giving further details. According to the statement, Instex and its Iranian counterpart, STFI, will work on further transactions and improvements to the mechanism. The spokesperson for the European External Action Service welcomed the transaction, recalling that the EU had always supported the creation and operation of Instex. “We welcome the commitment to work towards processing more transactions and providing a sustainable channel for legitimate trade between Europe and Iran”, they added. (CG)