Iran currency plan unaffected by Europe's proposed credit line - CBI chief

Iran’s chief banker says the country would stick to its current plans for currency regulation regardless of a European proposal for setting up a credit facility that could help revive a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Wednesday that the government would continue to regulate the currency market through what it has within its own resources and regardless of the credit line that has been proposed by France and other European powers to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA.

“The central bank has devised its currency supply program without taking into consideration Europe’s proposals,” said Hemmati, according to remarks covered by the official IRNA agency.

He also said that the CBI would go ahead with its existing plans for supply of foreign currencies to imports of basic goods and other urgent needs of the country.

The remarks come amid reports suggesting that Iran would be willing to reverse its decisions to scale back commitments under the JCPOA if other parties to the deal make tangible moves that could enable the country to benefit from economic advantages of the agreement.

Faced with American sanctions that have affected its economy, Iran has already taken two steps to reduce commitments under the JCPOA.

Preparing to take a major third step this week, Iran has declared that all scale-back measures would be reversible once non-US parties to the JCPOA, namely France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China, do enough to offset the impacts of the sanctions.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been at the hearts of efforts to prevent a collapse of the JCPOA, has reportedly committed his country to finance a third of the $15bn credit line.

Hemmati said in June that a mechanism meant to settle trade payments between Iran and Europe, known as INSTEX, would only survive if the Europeans accepted to finance it through Iran’s future oil sales.

Reports over the past days cited unidentified Iranian sources as saying that the country would commit itself to the France-proposed credit facility if the country can resume oil sales and have free and unrestricted access to the fund.