BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany have a special trade channel up and running with Iran that aims to circumvent U.S. economic sanctions, the EU said in a statement.

“France, Germany and the United Kingdom informed participants that INSTEX had been made operational and available to all EU Member States and that the first transactions are being processed,” the EU said in a statement, referring to the channel’s formal name.

Iran has also established an entity to trade with Europe, while some more EU countries are joining INSTEX as shareholders, the statement said, following talks between the remaining signatories to the Iran nuclear deal - Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - after the United States pulled out.