VW Denies U.S. Ambassador’s Role in Decision to Exit Iran

Volkswagen AG disputes the claim by U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell that he led negotiations to convince the company to stop doing business in Iran.

VW insists it has held no talks with Grenell about Iran, a country that faces new trade sanctions from the U.S. He warned German companies when he arrived in May that they also faced U.S. sanctions if they continue to do business in Iran.

Reuters says Grenell appears to have claimed credit since then for convincing such companies as BASF and Siemens to exit the Iranian market—whether or not they announced such a decision themselves.

VW said in July 2018 that it planned to resume selling cars in Iran through a deal with local importer Mammut Khodro.

In October, the group’s SEAT brand said it had dropped plans to enter the Iranian car market. SEAT said at the time that its decision was unrelated to President Donald Trump’s confrontational stance on Iran’s 3-year-old international nuclear agreement, which had ended an earlier round of trade sanctions.