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Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the three major European signatories to a landmark nuclear deal with Iran agreed to establish trade ties with Iran independent of the US dollar.

According to sources, the top Russian diplomat said on Monday that the decision by France, Germany and Britain would mainly concern small and medium-sized companies.

Lavrov added that the remaining parties to the Iran nuclear deal have agreed to work out measures to protect the countries’ businesses from US sanctions.

In May, US President Donald Trump decided in a unilateral move to withdraw from the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Since then, European companies are under increasing pressure from Washington to cut business ties with Tehran.

On May 8 Trump announced that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement and that he plans to reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Lavrov criticized Washington's "illegal and unacceptable" decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran.

“Everyone agrees that this is an absolutely illegal and unacceptable policy, but, of course, this can hardly be changed and there will be enough struggle in trade, economic and political spheres,” Lavrov added.

Since Trump pulled out of the n-deal, European countries have been scrambling to ensure that Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal.

Tehran has conditioned its stay in the deal to practical European strides to make sure Iran’s dividends from the deal would not be affected when US sanctions "snap back" in August.

European companies working in Iran face potential US penalties as the majority of transactions are currently conducted using the US dollar.

The European Parliament on Wednesday granted permission to the European Investment Bank (EIB) to do business in Iran as Europeans struggle to devise mechanisms aimed at saving the JCPOA without the US and protecting their commercial ties with Tehran in the face of returning American sanctions.

“We are granting the EIB the capacity to invest in Iran if suitable projects are found,” said Siegfried Muresan, a lawmaker from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP).

Iran has been sticking to the deal and its spirit despite the US ongoing breaches. However, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that "If Iran cannot enjoy the agreement's benefits, it will be practically impossible to stay in it."

*(Mr. Zarif and Mr. Lavrov, met at Palais Coburg Hotel in Veinna to discuss saving the JCPOA before the meeting of the top diplomats of Iran, P4+1, and the EU.)