European Firms Start Pulling Back From Iran

From Total to Maersk, companies are responding to U.S. warnings after the Trump administration began reimposing new sanctions on Tehran

LONDON—European firms have started pulling back investment and abandoning commitments in Iran, responding to a decision last week to reimpose broad American sanctionson Tehran by year end.

Total SA, a French oil giant, said Wednesday it had halted work on an Iranian natural-gas project and warned it may have to pull out altogether from its plan to invest $1 billion in the field. Some shippers of Iranian oil have said they are ceasing to facilitate such trades because of the new sanctions. Insurance companies are studying...