The German foreign ministry on Tuesday told The Jerusalem Post that the federal government has not engaged in talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran to purchase its oil and gas.
The Post reported on Monday that Moritz Kraemer, the chief economist for the partially state-owned bank LBBW in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, said “Intensive talks are already being held behind the scenes with Venezuela, Iran, or Algeria to cover Germany's oil and gasoline needs.”
A spokesman for the German foreign ministry told the Post ”The fact is that there are no talks or plans to buy oil or gas from Iran.” According to the spokesman, the coverage of the talks is “completely unfounded.” The LBBW scrambled on Tuesday to clarify the position of Kraemer. The bank also scrubbed its webpage where the chief economist wrote Germany is involved in talks with Iran’s regime to purchase gas and oil from the Mideast country.
The Post secured a screenshot of the original webpage that now reads when clicked: “Sorry something went wrong.” Bernd Wagner, a spokesman for the LBBW bank, told the Post that ”We agree with the foreign ministry comment.”
Wagner added” The statement with which Mr. Kraemer is quoted is a pure assumption in the context of a market commentary, which is moreover more than six months old. At that time, numerous German, as well as international media, reported on the interest of the Western world in finding alternative sources of energy. Mr. Kraemer had commented on this development from the perspective of the Chief Economist, referring to the relevant media reports.”
The Post pressed Wagner about why the LBBW scrubbed its website of Kraemer’s comment and asked for the “relevant media reports” about alternative energy sources. Wagner refused to respond.
Wagner said “The following fact seems important to us: our chief economist has no contacts whatsoever with the German government. We consider it absurd to quote him as a source for such talks.”
The Post made efforts to contact Kraemer. The comment by Kraemer was made in the context of how Germany plans to cover its energy needs in light of the country’s efforts to wean itself off Russian gas dependency.
Wagner declined to say who from the German government was involved in the “behind the scenes” talks based on Kramer’s comment. Wagner told the Post that the LBBW does not have business with Iran. According to the website of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), the LBBW conducted financial transactions with Iranian banks in 2010.
Moritz said on the LBBW website that the sanctions imposed on Iran’s regime are at “the expense of the people.”He provided no evidence about how sanctions are impacting the population.
The US, for example, has sanctioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity. The IRGC is responsible for both violent domestic repression and international terrorism. Germany refuses to classify the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
The Iranian regime’s media reported extensively in English and Persian on the Post story. According to the Tehran Times, “No official announcements have so far been made about the alleged secret talks between Tehran and Berlin.”
The news about Germany seeking to buy Iranian oil and gas would not be the first time that the federal republic circumvented US sanctions targeting Iran’s energy sector and was caught.
The Post reported in 2011 that the German foreign ministry greenlighted massive Iran oil transactions and bypassed American sanctions. The sanctions-busting activity by Germany’s government at the time outraged the US Treasury department.
Germany has long been Tehran’s most important European trade partner
According to a report covering German-Iranian trade between January-August during 2022 from the German Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AKH Iran), the trade volume was 1.2 billion euros, a 7 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
German exports saw a 9 percent increase (1,024 million euros) when contrasted with the same period last year.
The German Iranian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AKH Iran said “The statistics published by the Federal Statistics Office of Germany shows a 20% increase in Iran's imports from Germany from January to September 2022 compared to the same period last year.”
The trade group said that the Statistical Office noted” the volume of trade between Iran and Germany from January to September 2022 was 1.4 billion euros, which has grown by 16% compared to the same period last year (1.2 billion euros). Of this amount, 1.2 billion euros was the share of German exports to Iran, which has grown by 20% compared to the same period last year (1054 million euros).”
Baden-Württemberg is a hotbed of pro-Iranian regime activity
German-Iranian dissidents say the German state of Baden-Württemberg is a hotbed of pro-Iranian regime activity. The city of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg has a partnership with the clerical regime in Isfahan that promotes the destruction of Israel each year.
Amnesty International recently slammed the mayor of Freiburg, Martin Horn, for defending the partnership with Isfahan’s regime while municipal authorities are shooting and arresting protestors.
Iranian dissidents took the Baden-Württemberg state official, Michael Blume, to task for denigrating their efforts to oust the mullah regime in Tehran. Blume is paid to fight antisemitism, including Iranian regime-animated Jew-hatred.
Sheina Vojoudi, an Iranian dissident in Germany, blasted Blume for his allegedly bigoted comment.
“Blume called people like me ‘corrupt exiled nationalists’ after I showed him the leaked footage of Evin prison and told him [that] only criticism won’t help us and as a ‘defender of the human rights he should do more,” said Vojoudi.
“Blume called people like me ‘corrupt exiled nationalists’ after I showed him the leaked footage of Evin prison and told him [that] only criticism won’t help us and as a ‘defender of the human rights he should do more.”
Sheina Vojoudi
“But, in response, he insulted and discriminated against Iranians in exile. He called us corrupt but the rulers of their twin city [partnership], the officials of the Islamic Republic, are the most corrupt people on earth.”
Blume has refused to comment on his attacks on Iranian dissidents. In October, a court in Hamburg, Germany said statements made by Blume can be termed “antisemitic” and Blume’s critics can define him as “antisemitic.”