By Spencer Swartz

Source:

September 10, 2010

The list of companies cutting business ties with Iran continues to grow. Earlier .

Now another industrial engineering firm is in the process cutting all its business operations in Iran because of economic sanctions against the Islamic state. This time: of Germany, an engineering firm that is also one of the world’s biggest industrial gas suppliers.

Linde spokesman Uwe Wolfinger told the WSJ Friday that the company recently decided “to stop our activities in Iran and with Iran completely.”  For sure, the move will hardly make a dent on the company’s operations, with Iran having recently accounted for around €39 million, or just 0.3%, of Linde Group’s total sales, which topped €6.10 billion in the first six months of this year.

But the move is another nuisance for Iran, which has seen several energy and engineering firms over this year rip the cord on their operations because of fresh sanctions slapped on the country by the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations Security Council, Canada, Australia and Japan over Iran’s refusal to be fully transparent about its nuclear program.

Mr. Wolfinger said Linde had decided many months ago not to pursue new business opportunities in Iran, but that given the recent political developments, Linde had now opted to halt all its activities for good. He cautions though that this process has just started and that “it will take some time” before the company’s operations, in practice, are fully wound down.