Posted on 09/30/2010 7:49:09 PM PDT by nuconvert
WASHINGTON - UNDER threat of US sanctions, European oil firms Total, Shell, Statoil and Eni have pledged to stop investing in Iran in what amounts to a 'significant setback' to Teheran, a US official said on Thursday.
The pledges fall in line with new energy and financial measures against Iran that US President Barack Obama signed into law in July in the wake of UN Security Council sanctions imposed in June to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.
'We have received commitments from four international energy firms to terminate their investments and avoid any new activity in Iran's energy sector,' Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg told reporters.
The move dealt 'a significant setback to Iran,' Mr Steinberg added as analysts agreed that most major Western firms have now come to the conclusion that it is no longer worth doing business in Iran.
Mr Steinberg said that the firms - France's Total, Anglo-Dutch Shell, Norway's Statoil and Italy's Eni - are now eligible to avoid sanctions for doing business in the United States or with US firms.
The companies 'have provided assurance to us that they have stopped,' or taken steps to stop business with Iran, he said.
“France’s Total, Anglo-Dutch Shell, Norway’s Statoil and Italy’s Eni”
Thanks nuconvert, additional:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2600340/posts
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