AFP: The German industrial gas giant Linde said Friday that it would soon halt business operations in Iran owing to economic sanctions against the country.
FRANKFURT (AFP) — The German industrial gas giant Linde said Friday that it would soon halt business operations in Iran owing to economic sanctions against the country.
“We had already decided a few months ago not to launch any new activities in Iran,” a Linde spokesman told AFP.
“In light of the political developments, we have decided to soon halt our activities” in the country, he added.
Iran represents only a tiny part of the German group’s activities, roughly 39 million euros (50 million dollars) or 0.3 percent of its global sales in 2009, the spokesman noted.
The UN Security Council approved sanctions against Iran in June and countries including Australia, Canada Japan, South Korea and the United States have also taken unilateral measures to check Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
In January, the German conglomerate Siemens said it would withdraw from Iran amid diplomatic tension between Berlin and Tehran.
German banks and auto manufacturers have also greatly reduced their presence there and the government decided last year to strictly limit export guarantees that are often needed by companies that wish to do business with the Iranian regime.
