The European Union says it is making some progress on its controversial barter-type system to trade with Iran and get around U.S. sanctions as part of its efforts to keep the nuclear deal alive.
EU foreign policy secretary general Helga Schmid said Thursday that beyond the 10 EU nations that are already part of the system, "we now have 7 more member states that have announced they will either join the shareholders or use Instex," she said, referring to the barter system.
Schmid added that "from consultations I had last week, I can share with you that more, also non-EU member states, will join."
Iran has breached the deal's limitations in an attempt to get other nations to provide economic incentives to offset U.S. sanctions. The Trump administration withdrew from the agreement last year.
