German Companies Cannot Be “Totally Shielded” From US Iran Move

The German government will help German firms with business in Iran where it can, but cannot entirely shield them from the US decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions against Tehran, the economy minister told a newspaper.
European companies conducting business in Iran face sanctions after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord between six major powers and Iran. EU officials say there is no easy way to protect EU firms and banks from the extraterritorial nature of the US sanctions.
Asked how the German government could assist German firms feeling nervous in the wake of the US decision, Peter Altmaier told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper that Berlin would help them assess the situation and developments while also urging the US to grant exemptions and deadline extensions, Reuters reported. “We will help where we can, but there is no way of completely averting the consequences of this unilateral withdrawal,” he said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Monday he will travel to Washington to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss Washington’s stance on the international nuclear deal with Iran after Pompeo threatened Iran with “strongest sanctions in history”.
Germany’s VDMA engineering association recently said as long as the EU does not reactivate sanctions against Iran, German companies can legally do business with Iran.