Iran has come under pressure of international sanctions over its dubious nuclear program, as more foreign firms started dissociating from doing business with that Islamic country.
Many international oil firms and trading companies, including France's Total, had already stopped supplying gasoline to Iran in compliance with provisions of the U.S. sanctions aimed at discouraging Tehran from developing weapons of mass destruction.
Oil giant BP plc (BP.L) is the latest among a number of foreign companies shunning business with Iran as it stopped supplying jet fuel to Iran Air at Germany's Hamburg airport.
Earlier this month, the planes of national carrier Iran Air and Mahan Airlines were refused fuel at airports in Britain, Germany and UAE because of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran.
Lloyds, the London-based specialist insurance services provider to major business groups, stopped insuring or re-insuring Iran-bound petroleum shipments.
GS Engineering & Construction, a South Korean company specializing in the construction of oil, gas and petrochemical plants, backed out of a major gas project in Iran the day U.S. sanctions were imposed.
French oil major Total stopped selling gasoline to Iran immediately after the U.S. Congress passed a bill approving the unilateral sanctions.
Foreign companies that do business with Iran, including those firms that supply Iran's Revolutionary Guards or contribute to the country's energy industry, are subject to additional U.S. sanctions.
The United States' tough new energy and financial measures are tough enough to cripple Iran's energy and banking sectors, as the new measure will deny those companies that supply Iran with refined petroleum products access to U.S. markets.
It deprives the nation of imports of refined petroleum products like gasoline and jet fuel and curtails considerably its access to the international banking system.
However, the Iranian government insists that the punitive measures will not have any pressure on the country, arguing that it has the ability to meet its energy needs on its own if required. President Ahmadinejad's continued defiance to international calls to wind up its nuclear enrichment program has already cost the country heavily, as it was subjected to punitive measure by four entities within a month.
In June, the U.N. Security Council placed its fourth set of sanctions on Iran, which include tighter finance curbs and an expanded arms embargo. EU Foreign Ministers proposed new restrictions that go even further, while Australia announced its own new sanctions later.
On July 1, U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law a bill imposing a set of fresh sanctions on Iran designed to put pressure on that country discontinue efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
It is estimated that Iran has obtained two tons of the potential nuclear-bomb-making material since its uranium enrichment activities restarted at the Natanz nuclear center in 2006.
Tehran is irked by the continuing interference by the West demanding transparency on the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.
Iranian government, which denies accusations that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, insists that uranium enrichment is meant for peaceful purposes.
Iran's talks with the so-called 5+1 group on its nuclear program remains suspended since July 2008.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.