Iran Pitches ‘Crypto Rial’ to 8 Countries for Transactions, Avoiding US-Dollar Led Global Commerce Altogether

Sanction-hit Iran is negotiating the use of its state-backed cryptocurrency with eight foreign countries, according to a Tehran Times report.

The Middle Eastern nation had its representatives met with their counterparts from Switzerland, South Africa, France, England, Russia, Austria, Germany, and Bosnia. According to Mohammad-Reza Modoudi, the acting head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, the meeting took place in hopes to lure foreign investors into the country.

At the same time, the representatives also discussed how Iran would settle its global trades while hit by an international banking sanction. Digital Rial, as Tehran Times reported, was Modoudi’s response.

Circumventing US Dollar

The meeting between global representatives took place at the time when western nations began favoring Iran.

On January 29, 2019, the European Commission said that it would create a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to assist European countries in bypassing the US sanctions to work with Iran. The UK, Germany, and France led the efforts to remove the US Dollar from the equation as they import natural gas from the oil-rich country.

The move came after the Trump administration arm-twisted SWIFT, the global banking protocol for cross border payments, to sever ties with Iran’s central bank. The administration also ordered its allies to stop doing business with Iran which crippled Iran’s oil, shipping, gas, and financial industry.

But now, with the European Commission taking an active stand in favor of Iran, the US is threatening to go after its own allies.

“The choice is whether to do business with Iran or the United States,” Rep. Sen. Tom Cotton told the Associated Press.

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