FRANKFURT: ThyssenKrupp said it is freezing all new business with Iran with immediate effect and will terminate existing contracts there as soon as possible in response to ever-harsher sanctions on the Islamic republic. "By halting business with Iran we are supporting the sanctions policies of the Federal Republic of Germany, the European Union and the United States," said Ekkehard Schulz, chief executive of Germany's biggest steelmaker, on Thursday. ThyssenKrupp is the latest in a string of German companies reducing business ties to Iran. Carmaker Daimler earlier this year said it would sell its stake in an Iranian engine maker and freeze planned exports to Iran, following similar moves by Siemens, Munich Re and Allianz. ThyssenKrupp's announcement comes a day after foreign ministers of major powers told Iran they hope for an early negotiated solution to the stand-off over its nuclear program. Western nations have repeatedly urged Iran to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program, which they fear is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Tehran says the program is purely for peaceful purposes. ThyssenKrupp was part-owned by Iran for many years stemming from the Shah's regime in 1970s, until the company bought enough of its remaining shares in 2003 to avoid being put on a U.S. government blacklist.
