French firms told to ignore sanctions threats in Iran business
French companies are expected to ignore sanctions threats and grab the chance to cooperate with Iran, urged Iran’s ambassador to France.
Ali Ahani pointed out that leading French banks refuse to cooperate with Iran out of concerns over US sanctions, Fars News Agency reported.
Addressing an economic conference in Paris to discuss investment opportunities in Iran, the envoy criticized the cautious attitude of French banks about doing business with Iran.
French and other European companies have returned to Iran since the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016, when a landmark nuclear deal with world powers came into force.
Earlier, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, announced that Iran-eu trade witnessed a considerable surge over the last year as the figure rose by 78 percent to post €13.7 billion in 2016.
French Economy Minister Michel Sapin earlier promised that France will do everything to ensure the trust of international banks in cooperating with Iran as developing economic ties calls for the normalization of banking relations as well.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany signed the JCPOA in July 2015 to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.