The German government said it is formally suspending export credit and investment guarantees for business in Iran in the wake of authorities' crackdown on protests, Reuters reported.
The Economy Ministry said it also has suspended other “economic formats,” including a dialogue on energy issues, in view of “the very serious situation in Iran.”
Export credit guarantees protect German companies from losses when exports aren’t paid for. Investment guarantees are granted to protect direct investments by German companies from political risk in the countries where they are made.
The ministry said that use of those instruments for projects in Iran was suspended for decades until there was a “short phase of opening” from 2016 as a result of Iran's agreement with world powers, including Germany, on its nuclear program. It said that guarantees were granted or extended for a few projects in that period, but there have been no new ones since 2019.
The German government has now decided to “suspend completely” the guarantees, it added, and exemptions can only be granted if there are solid humanitarian reasons. German-Iranian trade totaled 1.76 billion euros (nearly $1.9 billion) in 2021 and 1.49 billion euros in the first nine months of this year, the ministry said.
