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Europe Accelerates Work on So-Called SPV to Counter U.S.’s Iran Sanctions

The European Union said work “has accelerated” on a so-called special purpose vehicle to help avoid the U.S. administration’s reimposed sanctions on Iran as the bloc tries to preserve the landmark Iranian nuclear accord after the Trump administration abandoned it.

The EU also warned that the decision by Swift, the financial messaging network, to suspend some Iranian banks from its network in the face of the U.S.’s moves held “risks” for the global financial system. Swift on Monday said “certain Iranian banks” are being suspended from its network, days after the U.S. said the messaging network could be hit by the sanctions.

“The work on setting up the SPV, or special purpose vehicle, is continuing and it has actually accelerated,” Maja Kocijancic, EU spokeswoman for foreign affairs, told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday without elaborating. The bloc is seeking to use the SPV to help maintain the economic benefits promised in the 2015 nuclear deal flowing to Iran, but the details remain vague.