French oil giant leaves Iran as Israel, US call on European partners to 'ramp up' pressure

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iran’s Oil Minister on Monday confirmed a major French energy giant had left the country over US sanctions, the same day as American and Israeli officials renewed calls for European nations to increase pressure on Iran.

“Total has officially left the contract to develop the South Pars Gas project’s phase 11,” Iran’s Minister of Oil, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, told state-owned ICANA, claiming that “the process to replace it with another company is underway.”

The first to arrive at an “Iranian Petroleum Contract” following the 2015 international nuclear accord, French oil giant Total revealed the agreement on July 2017, marking the return of the company to the Gulf country.

The move comes as the United States threatened to impose sanctions on companies that do business in Iran following its withdrawal of the international nuclear deal, which some European nations are still trying to salvage. Since the sanctions were reimposed, Iran’s currency, the Rial, plummeted in value and protests erupted over the struggling economy and Tehran’s costly involvement in regional conflicts.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, John Bolton, and Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, held a press conference where they highlighted the importance of world governments to comply with the sanctions on Iran.

“I frankly believe that all countries who care about peace and security in the Middle East should follow America's lead and ratchet up the pressure on Iran,” Netanyahu told journalists, AFP reported.

“The greater the pressure on Iran, the greater the chance that the regime will roll back its aggression. And everybody should join this effort.”

Bolton, from his side, underlined efforts with European allies to prevent Iran from attaining higher military capabilities and abide by the sanctions.

“It's why we've worked with our friends in Europe to convince them of the need to take stronger steps against the Iranian nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.”

The US imposed one set of sanctions on Iran earlier this month, dealing with the import of Iranian metals and automobiles. The more important sanctions, however, are set to take effect on November 5 and will include Iran’s oil, financial, and shipping sectors. 

In May of this year, Bolton also predicted that “the Europeans will see that it’s in their interests to come along with us.”

Editing by Nadia Riva