Israel Sues EU to Try to Block Saving Iran Nuclear Deal

As European Union members try to salvage the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, a big obstacle has been providing sanctions relief promised under the deal. To circumvent US threats, the EU has established a clearing house called INSTEX to allow trade with Iran without dealing with the banks, who are too afraid of the US to finance any deals.

Israel is bound and determined to kill the deal, however, which has led to an Israeli NGO sing the European Union over INSTEX, and trying to claim all Iranian assets in it, if any, should belong to Israelis who US courts have awarded Iranian assets to.

Seizing Iranian assets in Europe based on US court rulings, as part of an effort to undermine EU attempts to save a nuclear deal with Iran is clearly problematic, and the EU is likely to object to such an attempt to legally impose US policy on them.

That may not matter, however, as suing the EU over INSTEX might just be a cynical way to tie that newly launched system up in court, and convince companies that the assets within INSTEX aren’t secure, and subject to being looted in lawsuits.