Britain, France and Germany have for the first time used a complex financial system that bypasses US sanctions to send medical aid to Iran, raising hopes of salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

According to the German foreign ministry, the medical supplies safely arrived in Iran after a transaction using the Instex system, which was set up in response to Donald Trump, the US president, withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and imposing severe sanctions on the regime.

Earlier this month, Britain, Germany and France had announced they would offer a €5million (£4m) package to help Iran tackle the coronavirus, as well as medical equipment for testing and protective clothing.

However, it is understood that this first transaction was related to medical supplies that were requested before the outbreak.

In future, the British government may use the Instex programme, which bypasses US sanctions by avoiding transactions in US dollars, to channel more supplies that are geared specifically for coronavirus treatment.

Since Mr Trump quit the nuclear deal, Iran had complained that European nations were failing to fulfill their end of the bargain as they had all but ceased trading with the regime for fear of breaching US sanctions.