Iran is rapidly nearing the limit of enriched uranium set forth in the nuclear development agreement entered into by Tehran, the United States, and other nations and from which the US has withdrawn. Following the American departure, the European Union sought to fill the gap left by Washington, but the Iranians insisted that it could only happen if the EU could offer a mechanism through which Iranian companies could trade on the international markets without worrying about being sanctioned-out of American financial institutions and trade its oil. Both tasks proved to be impossible within the time constraints set by Tehran. The United Kingdom, France and Germany said on Friday that the new ISTEX trade channel which will meet the Iranian demands is up and running. The channel will circumvent American sanctions.