Complete Halt of Scania Truck Sales to Iran Likely Due to US Sanctions

The CEO of Swedish company Scania stated on Friday, August 12, that the re-imposition of US sanctions against Iran jeopardizes Scania's truck sales to the country. Henrik Henriksson told Reuters that Scania was one of the first companies to enter Iran after the lifting of EU sanctions in 2016. He mentioned that all orders from Iran for truck purchases have been canceled until mid-August, which is two weeks away, as these orders would fall under the new US sanctions. Henriksson added that based on the information available today, if the situation does not change, all sales will be at risk. According to Henriksson, Scania sells between five to six thousand trucks and buses to Iran annually, which constitutes five percent of the company's global sales. Donald Trump, who has been a serious critic of the nuclear deal with Iran since his election campaign, announced on May 8 this year Washington's decision to withdraw from the JCPOA and re-impose US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The first round of US sanctions against Iran will be implemented on August 4 and aims to bring Iranian oil imports to zero by November 4 this year. In this context, the Renault car company, which had previously stated it would not leave the Iranian market, announced on August 1 that it would likely end its operations in Iran due to US sanctions. Last year, Renault sold 160,000 vehicles in Iran. Following the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, France, Germany, and Britain, along with Russia and China, announced they would remain committed to the agreement. However, America's European allies, seeking to preserve the nuclear deal, have recently been trying to find a way for banking transactions with Iran to allow it to continue its oil exports.