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Rouhani: Iran will not yield to EU official: Union hopeful about

US psychological war, expanding agro, food products
will continue oil exports trade with Iran

Number 6064● Tuesday November 20, 2018 ● Aban 29, 1397 ● Rabi’ al-Awwal 12, 1440 ● Price 5,000 Rials
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Pages www.iran-daily.com
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SPV to be delivered
Mogherini: Macron:
Europe must
not become
‘sooner rather than later’ REUTERS
a plaything of
E
uropean Union foreign policy chief Federica
Mogherini said work is continuing on the
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) aimed at fa-
great powers
cilitating trade with Iran following the reimposition French President Emmanuel Macron called
of US sanctions on the country, but gave no specific for greater European unity, saying that Eu-
date as to when it is going to be implemented. rope must not “become a plaything of great
“You have to ask the Foreign Ministers of powers, must assume greater responsibility
France, Germany and the UK. Our work continues, for its security and its defense”.
their work continues and we support it,” she said in Macron on Sunday urged a Franco-German
response to a question as to when the SPV is going push to make Europe a stronger and more
to be ready. confident global player that could prevent
She made the remarks ahead of the European “chaos” on the world stage, AFP reported.
foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday,
Tasnim News Agency reported.
“The involvement of the Finance Ministers of
the E3 (France, Germany, UK) is of key importance
at this stage. They are working hard to finalize it. I
cannot tell you a date, but I can tell you that work
is continuing and is progressing in a positive man-
ner.”
Continued on Page 2

EPA-EFE

Japan, South Korea Iran, Britain discuss

Macron and German Chancellor Angela
Merkel have used a series of war anniversa-
ries to project unity as they push back against

plan to resume populist and nationalist forces in Europe and

Trump’s isolationist “America First” stance.

Iran oil imports from

ties, SPV, regional issues With half a year until European Parliament
elections in which far-right forces look to
make gains, Macron made a passionate plea
for stronger backing from Merkel on a range

January Hunt: Europe keen to preserve JCPOA of reforms to strengthen Europe.

Refiners in Japan and South Korea are looking
to resume Iranian oil imports from January after
receiving waivers from US sanctions on Tehran,
sources familiar with the matter said.
The waivers granted in Iranian oil imports
have helped push spot prices for Middle East
crude and condensate to their lowest in more
than a year, Reuters reported.
The United States in November granted ex-
emptions to eight countries, allowing them to
import some Iranian crude for another 180 days.
Japan and South Korea were among the top five
buyers of Iranian crude and condensate before
they stopped imports in the third quarter ahead of
the sanctions.
South Korean refiners are set to hold their Ira-
nian oil imports at zero until the end of the year,
and they may resume shipments in late January
or early February as buyers are in talks with Iran
to sign new contracts, industry sources said.
“They are seeking to get the best price and
are in talks with Iran,” said a source with direct
knowledge of the matter.
Most tankers are booked until December, so
South Korea may load Iran oil shipments in Janu-
ary at the earliest, he said.
It takes about 25 days for oil shipments from
Iran to arrive at South Korea. Iran also has the
option of selling oil from storage in Dalian, Chi-
na, which would shorten delivery time.
Last week, a South Korean delegation was
in Iran to negotiate for 2019 supplies of mainly
South Pars condensate.
Continued on Page 4
National Desk
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his British
counterpart Jeremy Hunt discussed a range of issues including ways
to facilitate Europe’s trade with Iran.
Jeremy Hunt arrived in Tehran on Monday for the first time since
taking office. He is the first European official to come to Tehran after
President Donald Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in May.
In the meeting, both diplomats discussed relations between Teh-
ran and London as well as issues surrounding the SPV, the Special
Purpose Vehicle (SPV) developed by the European Union for keep-
ing economic ties with Iran following the US withdrawal from the
2015 Iran nuclear agreement and reimposition of sanctions against
Tehran.
In May, US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, negoti-
ated with five other world powers during former president Barack
Obama’s administration. The United States also restored sanctions
targeting Iran’s oil, banking and transportation sectors earlier this
month.
Other signatories of the deal, the European Union, France, Ger-
many, Britain, Russia and China, have been searching for ways to
salvage the pact.
Zarif and Hunt also talked about major regional issues, including
the necessity for accelerated efforts to end the war on Yemen.
Speaking after meeting the British foreign secretary, Zarif said,
“We are used to pressure and we are used to resisting pressure. Sanc-
tions always hurt and they hurt ordinary people, but sanctions sel-
dom change policy, and that has been the problem with US sanctions
all the time. They do not take people back to the negotiating table. In
fact, they strengthen the resolve to resist.
“We will certainly survive. We will not only survive – we
will thrive. We have tried to minimize the impact on the population
but the ordinary people are going to suffer, the economy is going to
IRNA
suffer.”
Speaking to the Guardian, Zarif said he was confident the Iranian
oil industry would find markets, even though the US measures have
pushed down exports sharply. “There are always markets for oil, it
depends on the conditions and the price,” he said. “I believe Iran will
always sell oil.”
Zarif also challenged claims by the US Secretary of State, Mike
Pompeo, that the sanctions had been constructed to exempt humani-
tarian supplies, such as food and medicine.
“The US has imposed financial sanctions on Iran,” he said.
“When you want to transfer money, the bank does not ask whether
it goes for food or other items – that is why sanctions always hit food
and medicine.
“The US is not living up to its promises. We believe all sanctions
are unlawful, and against UN Security Council resolutions, but the
US is not even truthful to the commitment they have made.”
Zarif said Iran was frustrated by the slow pace of EU moves to
help European firms that want to continue trading with Iran.
“What is important is that Europe has made the political com-
mitment but, unfortunately, so far as practicabilities are concerned,
it has been very slow,” Zarif said. “Hunt gave me commitment that
the UK believes in the nuclear deal, but we also need to see some
action.”
Achievements of JCPOA to be preserved
Later in a meeting with Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Su-
preme National Security Council, Hunt said Europe is keen to pre-
serve “the achievements of the JCPOA”.
“To do so, the implementations of ideas like establishing a Special
Purpose Vehicle independent of the US and a dollar-less economy
are seriously pursued collectively by the bloc.” he said.
Continued on Page 2
“Europe, and within it the Franco-German
couple, have the obligation not to let the
world slip into chaos and to guide it on the
road to peace,” Macron told the German par-
liament.
“That’s why Europe must be stronger... and
win more sovereignty,” he said at a ceremony
to honor the victims of past wars and dictator-
ships.
Macron said it was Europe that had led the
drive for green energy and against climate
change and was now most strongly pushing
multilateral approaches to trade, security, mi-
gration and environmental policy.
The first French president to address the
Bundestag in 18 years, Macron called for
greater European unity in order for the bloc to
meet future challenges in an uncertain world.
He said Europe must not “become a play-
thing of great powers, must assume greater
responsibility for its security and its defense,
and must not accept a subordinate role in
world politics”.
Merkel said she agreed with Macron’s
assessment that Europe stands “at a cross-
roads”, before the two headed into a meeting
to discuss a range of policy challenges – from
a joint eurozone budget to migration policy
and taxing Internet giants.
The German leader reiterated that she
backed Macron’s proposal for a future Euro-
pean Army as a symbol of a united continent
– an idea that has raised Trump’s hackles.
Last week the American president mocked
the plan by tweeting that “it was Germany in
World Wars One & Two - How did that work
out for France?”
But German Defense Minister Ursula von

Yemen’s Houthis halt attacks on Saudi coalition to speed up peace process
Yemen’s Houthi movement said on Monday it was halting drone
and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and
their allies, responding to a demand from the United Nations.
International pressure has mounted on Yemen’s warring parties
to end the war that has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed
the country to the verge of starvation, AFP reported.
The move from the Houthi group came after the Saudi-led coali-
tion ordered a halt in its offensive against Yemen’s main port city
Hodeida, which has become the focus of the war.
“After our contacts with the UN envoy and his request to stop
drone and missile strikes ... We announce our initiative ... to halt
missile and drone strikes on the countries of aggression,” Moham-
med Ali al-Houthi, the head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolution-
ary Committee, said in a statement.
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths is trying to salvage peace
talks after a round in September collapsed. He hopes to convene
talks before the end of the year in Sweden to agree on a framework
for peace under a transitional government.
Yemen’s parties have given “firm assurances” they are com-
mitted to attending peace talks to be convened shortly, Griffiths
told the UN Security Council on Friday, and pledged to escort the
Houthi delegation from Sana’a if needed.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday reiterated the king-
AFP
dom’s support for UN efforts to end the war. The Riyadh-backed
government also announced its willingness to take part in the next
round of consultations.
Houthi movement which has been battling the Saudi-led coali-
tion for nearly four years added it was ready for a broader cease-
fire if “the Saudi-led coalition wants peace.”
“(The decision) came to support the UN envoy, to show good
faith and support the peace efforts,” the statement said.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE both have said they support UN-led
peace talks.
The Houthis say their missile attacks on Saudi Arabia are in re-
taliation for air raids on Yemen by the Western-backed coalition,
which entered Yemen’s war in 2015 to try to restore the Saudi-
backed government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who
had already resigned and fled to Saudi Arabia.
The coalition has carried out thousands of air strikes in the im-
poverished country that have hit schools, markets and hospitals,
killing hundreds of people.
The Houthis last July unilaterally halted attacks in the Red Sea
to support peace efforts, after Saudi Arabia suspended temporarily
oil exports through a strategic Red Sea channel following attacks
on crude tankers.
Key Western allies including the United States have been ur-
gently calling for a cease-fire ahead of the renewed UN efforts.
Western countries have provided arms and intelligence to the
Arab states in the alliance, but have shown increasing reservations
about the conflict since the murder of US-based Saudi dissident
journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul early
last month.
der Leyen insisted Sunday that a joint military
force would need not just common equip-
ment and training but also “the political will
to resolutely defend European interests when
a conflict breaks out”.
And France’s Minister for European Af-
fairs, Nathalie Loiseau, told the Journal
du Dimanche “it is not a question of being
against the United States but of taking our
destiny into our own hands to no longer count
on others”.
Macron’s Berlin visit came a week after
world leaders met in Paris to commemorate
the end of World War I a century ago.
Macron has repeatedly invoked the war’s
horrors to drive home the message that rising
nationalism is again destabilizing the world.
In a Berlin meeting with youths, Macron
warned that forgetting history means “to re-
peat the mistakes of the past”.
While strong on symbolism, the Franco-
German partnership and European reform
push have been plagued by policy differ-
ences and the domestic troubles of the two
leaders.