Iran Urges Foreign Firms to Resist US Sanction 'Threats'

Tehran on Saturday urged foreign firms working in Iran to resist US "threats" of sanctions, adding it was in talks with French car makers about staying on in the country.

"All (foreign) companies working in Iran should not be intimidated by US threats and should continue their activities in Iran," Industry Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari told a news conference in Tehran.

"All those who do not do this, we will replace them. There are others who
will invest in Iran," he said. 

When asked specifically about the case of French vehicle manufacturers PSA—maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS—and Renault, Shariatmadari said: "Until now, they have not told us that they are not continuing" their business in Iran. 

"They are continuing their cooperation. So far, we are talking (with these groups) and there is nothing new," he said. 

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, effectively starting a countdown for the reimposition of sanctions lifted under the accord. 

Sanctions on the automobile sector are set to be reinstated on August 6.

PSA, through its automotive equipment subsidiary Faurecia, and Renault, through its alliance with Japanese manufacturer Nissan, could take a heavy hit from the reimposed penalties.

Between the two, Renault and PSA sell nearly half of all new cars registered in Iran. 

With the deadline looming, the two French groups have adopted different communication strategies. 

In early June, PSA announced it had "begun the process of suspending the activities of its joint ventures (in Iran) in order to comply with US law by August 6, 2018."

The majority of the company's French employees in Iran have already left the country. 

Renault, on the other hand, has ambiguously said it would not abandon its activities in Iran, but would "sharply reduce operations" in the country without endangering the company's "interests."

Photo Credit: IRNA

Most French Firms 'Won't Be Able to Stay' in Iran: Minister

Most French companies hoping to keep doing business in Iran after the US imposes new sanctions on the country will find it impossible to do so, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday.

These companies "won't be able to stay because they need to be paid for the products they deliver to or build in Iran, and they cannot be paid because there is no sovereign and autonomous European financial institution" capable of shielding them, Le Maire told BFM television.

The new sanctions announced by US President Donald Trump in May after he pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran would punish any foreign firm operating in Iran which also does business with the US or in dollars.

"Our priority is to build independent, sovereign European financial institutions which would allow financing channels between French, Italian, German, Spanish and any other countries on the planet," Le Maire said.

"It's up to us Europeans to choose freely and with sovereign power who we want to do business with," he added. "The United States should not be the planet's economic policeman."

Le Maire and his EU counterparts have been trying to secure exemptions for their firms, many of which rushed back into Iran after the landmark accord curtailing Tehran's nuclear program.

But French oil group Total and carmaker PSA have already indicated they are unlikely to stay in the country, while Renault has said it will remain despite the sanctions—though it does not sell its cars in the US.

Analysts have warned it would be nearly impossible to protect multinationals from the reach of the "extraterritorial" US measures, given the exposure of large banks to the US financial system and dollar transactions.

The first round of the new sanctions, targeting Iran's auto and civil aviation sectors, are scheduled to go into effect on August 6.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Renault to Stay in Iran Despite US Sanctions: CEO

French carmaker Renault will maintain its presence in Iran while taking measures to avoid the risk of penalties for breaching renewed US sanctions, CEO Carlos Ghosn said Friday.

"We will not abandon it, even if we have to downsize very strongly," he said at the annual shareholders' meeting in Paris.

"When the market reopens, the fact of having stayed will certainly give us an advantage," he predicted.

US President Donald Trump announced in May that he was pulling out of the hard-fought 2015 deal in which world powers offered Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for restraints on its nuclear program.

The US exit means renewed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, while international companies doing business there will face penalties if they do not quit the country in between 90 and 180 days. 

Companies including aircraft maker Boeing, French energy giant Total and Danish shipping group Maersk have announced plans to pull out, while Nike has stopped supplying Iran's football team with boots.

Renault's rival PSA, which produces the Peugeot and Citroen brands, has also announced it will quit Iran to abide by the US sanctions.

But Ghosn signaled that Renault, which counted 160,000 cars sold in Iran last year out of its total 3.76 million, would try to stay in the country.

"We have a future in Iran," he insisted.  "However, we are not going to do so to the detriment of Renault's interests—we will be watching closely to make sure our presence in Iran does not provoke direct or indirect reprisal measures on the part of American authorities."

Ghosn said a Renault team working on the issue was "in direct contact with the American administration to work out what can be done and what cannot be done".

The company has not sold its cars in the United States since abandoning the market in the 1980s.

Photo Credit: IRNA