The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) was a European special-purpose vehicle (SPV) established on 31 January 2019 and liquidated in March 2023.

[5] Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, commented by likening the European financial mechanism for trade with Iran to a “bitter joke".

[7] On 28 June 2019, France, Germany and the United Kingdom told a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU member states.

[8][9] Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stated that the purpose of INSTEX is to facilitate "legitimate trade" with Iran for any EU member and has been conceived to be open to non-EU countries.

[10] In addition to the three founders, five other EU nations declared in a joint statement on 29 November 2019 that they will join the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran: Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, and Sweden.