EU, Russia and China join forces to dodge US sanctions on Iran

The EU, China, Russia and Iran have set out a plan to dodge US sanctions against the Middle Eastern country and save the nuclear deal signed in 2015.

America recently imposed sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian economy after Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, claiming it should be renegotiated.

European diplomats have proposed a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that could counter the sanctions by facilitating payments related to Iran’s exports, including oil, that will hopefully convince Tehran to stay inside the deal.

It was hoped that the new plan might provide a way to continue normal trade without any funds needing to go through Iranian hands or the country's banking system. The transactions would also be made in euros and sterling rather than in dollars and thus be less transparent to the US.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said he was disappointed by the EU's plan and said it was counterproductive from the point of view of regional and global peace and security.

Donald Trump urged world leaders at the United Nations general assembly on Tuesday to isolate Iran.

"Iran's leaders sow chaos, death and destruction," he said."They do not respect their neighbours or borders or the sovereign rights of nations. Instead, Iran's leaders plunder the nation's resources to enrich themselves and spread mayhem across the Middle East and far beyond."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also addressed the UN general assembly on Tuesday and stressed his commitment to the agreement and accused the US of bullying other countries into dropping the 2015 nuclear deal.

"Confronting multilateralism is not a sign of strength," he said. "Rather, it is a symptom of the weakness of intellect. It betrays an inability in understanding a complex and interconnected world."

The threat of sanctions has already started to impact companies with business in the region such as Renault, which cancelled the construction of a new plant in Iran, General Electric, Boeing and Siemens which have already announced they would cease operations involving the country.

The Iranian rial hit a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market on Wednesday, the Tasnim news agency reported.