Despite sanctions, Germany supports Iran trade with nearly 1 billion in credit

The German Press Agency revealed the credit guarantee figure on Saturday, noting that the nearly 1 billion euros have been provided to German firms to protect their business with Iran.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Updated: NOVEMBER 6, 2018 18:24
A missile that the U.S. Department of Defense says is a "Qiam" ballistic missile manufactured in Iran and that the Pentagon says was fired by Houthi rebels from Yemen into Saudi Arabia on July 22, 2017 is seen on display at a U.S. military base in Washington, U.S. (photo credit: JIM BOURG/ REUTERS)
A missile that the U.S. Department of Defense says is a "Qiam" ballistic missile manufactured in Iran and that the Pentagon says was fired by Houthi rebels from Yemen into Saudi Arabia on July 22, 2017 is seen on display at a U.S. military base in Washington, U.S.
(photo credit: JIM BOURG/ REUTERS)
New York – The German government defied US sanctions on Iran’s clerical regime on Monday, by continuing to insure its companies with export credit – 911 million euro for 58 companies.
The German Press Agency revealed the credit guarantee figure on Saturday, noting that the nearly 1 billion euros have been provided to German firms since 2016 to protect their business dealings with Iran from the high risks of its markets. Germany remains Iran’s most important European trade partner. In 2017, the trade volume between Germany and Iran increased by 17% (3.4 million euros). However, German-Iranian commerce has dropped since the start of 2018.
The European NGO Stop the Bomb called for “substantial changes regarding Germany’s Iran-policy and urged “no support for the regime in Tehran but every kind of support for the democratic, secular opposition,” adding that it “welcomes the new US sanctions against the Iranian dictatorship.” The organization said in a statement on Monday: “Maximum pressure on the Iranian regime is needed to counter the dangers of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, the continued threats against Israel, Iran’s aggressive expansionist policies in the region and against the brutal oppression of the Iranian people and their struggle for freedom. The coalition Stop the Bomb is working for an isolation of the Iranian regime and for support of the Iranian opposition.”
Stephan Grigat, the academic director of Stop the Bomb Austria, said: “Instead of supporting the antisemitic terror regime in Iran, the EU should consider the new US sanctions as an opportunity to rethink their policies. Europe’s Iran policy has proven to be illusory. It neither succeeded in improving the situation in Iran, nor in the region. The Iranian nuclear program has not ended through the nuclear deal, instead it has been institutionalized and legalized.”
On Saturday, Die Zeit paper wrote that Germany is not dependent on Iranian oil, since imports only amounted to 0.9% of German consumption. In October, President Reuven Rivlin urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to join the US sanctions targeting Tehran for its malign activities in the region, which Merkel declined. She, along with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas are supporters of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which the US pulled out of in May 2018. Maas, who said he entered politics “because of Auschwitz,” sought ways to bust US sanctions on Iran.