German companies enable Iran’s nuclear program and infrastructure

Siemens, ThyssenKrupp, BASF, BAYER, Herrenknecht, MAN Ferrostaal among major corporations strengthening Iran

 

Germany has been intensely involved in the international effort to thwart Iran’s nuclear weapons development program. Yet, while Chancellor Merkel has vocally stated her opposition to Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapon, Germany continues to be Iran’s largest trading partner in the EU and critics believe Merkel’s main coalition partner, the pro-business FDP will favor commercial ties over the West’s security interests.[1] Germany’s exports to Iran reached about 426,4 million US dollars in September 2009, imports totaling about 140 million US dollars.[2]

Examples of German Businesses that Invest in Iran:

Machine Construction/Engineer: MAN Ferrostaal

The largest trade volume with Iran is earned by German engineers. Every third machine that the country imports comes from Germany. In 2006, medium-sized businesses sold machinery to Iran for approximately 1.6 billion euros. In the first half of 2007, export of machinery only reached approximately 500 million euros. „The reason for this is, on the one hand, strict export control, and on the other hand, restrictive politics as far as the banks‘ acceptance of guarantees is concerned,“ says Hannes Hesse, Chief Executive Officer of the VDMA (Verband deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau, Association of German Engineering and Machine Construction). If one assumes an additional decline until the year’s end, the volume would have been reduced by half within one year.[3]

The retreat of banks from Iran has especially hurt large machinery manufacturers such as MAN Ferrostaal. MAN Ferrostaal in Essen is working on three big projects in Iran: a power station as well as two plants for the crude oil industry. The aggravated situation reveals itself not only as far as new deals are concerned but also in processing current transactions, a spokesperson said. In the meantime, MAN has relied on services rendered by the European-Iranian Merchant Bank.[4]  

Steel: ThyssenKrupp

Germany’s largest steel manufacturer, ThyssenKrupp, has a share of less than 100 million euros of trade volume with Iran, a spokesperson of this leading manufacturer said. According to information provided by the magazine Der Spiegel, the Iranian state still owns a large block of shares in ThyssenKrupp. The papers are kept at the depository of the holding company IFIC (Iran Foreign Investment Company). The Mullahs used this company to invest their petro-dollars around the world. Four years ago, Tehran had to give up its seat on the board of directors of ThyssenKrupp and reduce its holdings. At the time, Iran had shares of 7.8 percent in ThyssenKrupp, decreasing these shares in the years to follow. Yet until today, the Iranians have not opted out, the magazine states, referring to the business report of IFIC for the year 2006. In 2007, the Iranian State collected dividends in the amount of 18.5 million euros for their 4.5 percent share. Among other things, the money flows into credit transactions with companies that deal with Iran. This way, for example, in 2005, a German charter flight company received a loan in the amount of USD 55 million. The British finance company HSBC had part of its ThyssenKrupp shares mortgaged as securities, via its German subsidiary, Trinkaus&Burkhardt. In return, the Iranians may speculate in futures and options trading. „No comment,“ was the reply at HSBC.[5]

 

Tunneling: Herrenknecht

A large part of Iran’s atomic complex is being hidden in „networks of tunnels and bunkers across the country“.[6] That way Iran has managed to secure its nuclear infrastructure from a military attack and has furthermore obscured the nature of the Iranian nuclear weapons development program. Therefore, many experts say, a crucial factor behind the call for peaceful solutions to the standoff with Iran is the Islamic Republic’s tunneling – what Tehran calls its strategy of „passive defense“.[7] According to the US government, there are hundreds – maybe thousands – of big tunnels in Iran. Companies owned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are building civilian and military tunnels Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has played a major role in Iran’s tunnel system as he is an engineer and the founder of the Iranian Tunneling Association.[8] Herrenknecht, a German company considered the market leader, has three offices in Tehran.[9]  

Shipping: Leonhardt & Blumberg

In October 2009, US troops boarded a German-owned freighter (Hansa India) and found eight containers full of ammunition, suitable for Kalashnikov rifles, allegedly headed to Syria from Iran. The shipment was in violation of a UN weapons embargo. Investigators suspected that the arms were part of an Iranian shipment bound for either the Syrian army or Hizballah. Following an intervention by the German government, the US allowed the ship to continue on to his destination in Malta, where the containers were secured.[10]

The freight ship was leased from the Hamburg-based company Leonhardt & Blumberg. One of the company’s owners, Wolfgang Leonhardt, said that the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines had leased the ship.[11] The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) is the largest commercial shipping company in the Middle East and the 25^th largest in the world. The IRISL offers transport services connecting Iranian importers and exporters to South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. IRISL is 20 percent state-owned.[12] Asked whether his company should be involved with business with a country that exports weapons to Hizballah and pursues a nuclear weapons development program, Leonhardt said that „it would not make sense in terms of the world community to ban“ trade with Iran.

Automobiles: Daimler & Volkswagen

In recent years, Iran has sold or reduced its shares in German automobile manufacturing companies, as for example, with the Daimler and VW concerns. Daimler still sells about 100 Mercedes Benz cars to Iran every year. In addition, the production of trucks continues.[13]  

According to the company’s own information, MAN in Munich currently does not deliver any trucks or systems to the region. Yet MAN is still involved in the service business in Iran and, for example, offers maintenance for gas turbines. Trade restriction would hardly hurt the company, a spokesperson says.[14]  

Energy: RWE & Siemens

On 5 February 2008, Germany’s second largest energy power company, RWE (Rheinisch-Westfälische Elektrizitätswerke) joined the Nabucco Project, as the sixth partner. The pipeline is supposed to reduce dependency on imports from Russia. Construction is supposed to begin in 2009, and starting in 2013, it is to deliver gas from the Caspian Sea, the Near East and Middle East to Europe. It is not clear at this time if Iran is to be included as well as a supplier of gas. [15]

In December 2009 the German government started an investigation against Siemens for allegedly having violated export control laws by shipping high technology equipment to companies in Iran. Custom officials found a load of turbo compressors that experts believe could be used for Iran’s missile program. [16]

According to the company’s own information, the Munich conglomerate Siemens achieves less than one percent of its total volume from trade with Iran. In 2006, this amount reached 700,000 euros, mostly from energy and infrastructure. Siemens delivered gas power stations to the Islamic Republic. A spokesperson for the company said that it strictly adhered to national and international guidelines.[17]  Yet according to information provided by Der Spiegel, Siemens intentionally downplays the significance of its dealings with Iran.[18]  Based on information given by the Iranian news agency IRNA, Siemens and the Iranian Power Plant Projects Management Company (Mapna) signed an agreement on 14 November 2006 for a deal worth 450 million euros, concerning the construction of 150 railway engines for the Iranian railway system. The deal provides for the delivery of the first completed 30 engines to Iran in the first phase, and for the construction of 120 additional engines in the course of six years. Within the framework of the agreement, Siemens also has to transfer technical know-how within ten years. In August 2003, Siemens, a firm holding expert knowledge in the area of nuclear plants, signed a contract for the delivery of 24 power plants. In order to finalize the deal, Siemens had to commit itself to a „transfer of technology for small and medium-sized power plants. [19]

Pharmaceuticals/Chemicals: BASF & Bayer

Still active today in Iran are the German pharmaceutical and chemical giants BASF and Bayer. Bayer, based in Leverkusen, has shares in Iran in the amount of two-digit millions which are mainly in agricultural chemicals and pharmaceutical products. [20] BASF Iran has been active since 1959 and represents the company’s entire portfolio with special emphasis on rapidly growing fields like automobiles, petrochemicals (catalysts) and fibers. In 2005, BASF Iran saw business volume in the amount of approximately 70 million euros. In 2006, the amount was about 42 million euros. [21]

Banks: Serious Downgrade of German Involvement

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank quit their businesses with Iran as the banks found their names on a list of companies dealing with so called „rogue states“. „The political pressure has grown and it is not related to the actual developments in Iran [caused by the presidential elections in June 2009],“ said Michael Tockuss from the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg. [22] In 2007, three large German banks stopped their dealings with Iran and are only concluding old orders: The Dresdner Bank explained its retreat with increased „bureaucratic expenses.“ The Financial Times Deutschland reported that the credit line for business deals with Iran at the Dresdner had reached, in 2006, an amount of three-digit millions, and in 2007, an amount of two-digit millions. [23]  The Deutsche Bank stopped its activities in July, following the example set by the Commerzbank.[24]

The Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW, Reconstruction Loan Corporation) has also massively reduced its business activities. „In 2006 and 2007, the KfW has not closed any new business deals in Iran,“ a spokesperson said. The institute was only holding old export funds of about 350 million euros.[25]

Since the departure of the large German banks, the European-Iranian Merchant Bank is faring as never before. According to information provided by Der Spiegel, dozens of exporters of machinery and trade companies are switching from their own „home“ banks to join the European-Iranian Merchant Bank. Together with the Melli and Saderat banks, the institute appears on the US Department of Finance blacklist. On November 14, 2007, a delegation of Iranian state bankers took part in the board meeting of the Merchant Bank in Hamburg. The meeting was also attended by a representative of the Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (Federal Institute for Financial Services Supervision) based in Bonn. The management presented the best business numbers in the company’s history. At about three billion euros, the existing trade funds were (supposedly) twice as high as in 2006. [26]  According to EU law, a United Nations Resolution must first determine that Iranian banks are financing Iranian nuclear equipment. Only then, a member state of the EU is allowed to proceed against the Iranian company in question.[27]

Spiegel magazine reported in March that now the accounts of the Iranian bank Melli, which is also active in Germany, would be frozen as well as the accounts of private persons and companies with ties to the nuclear programme. The recent UNSC resolution only sanctions the banks Sedarat and Melli.  It seems like the EU wants to take a further step.[28]

Port cooperation: HPC Company

In January 2010, HPC Company, an independent business within Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) group and the port operator of Hamburg, signed a contract with the Iranian Tidewater Compan y. HPC is the ninth largest container-handling port in the world. The deal has been made in order to improve maritime services in Iran’s southern port of Shahid Rajaee. According to Iran’s Tidewater Company Director Abdolhamid Malahzadeh, HPC will be replacing the Singaporean OPM company as the port operator.[29] 

Resistance by the German Business Community

The German economy is reacting with caution to the possible tightening of economic sanctions against Iran. Supposedly, Tehran would no longer have reason to repay its debts once the guarantees for Iran (Hermes-Bürgschaften) are further reduced or discontinued altogether. This would include outstanding payments in the amount of approximately 5.2 billion euros, which, in the event that they are not repaid, the Federal Treasury would have to cover. [30]

The Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie (BDI, Federation of German Industry) warned against „unilateral measures“ by the EU or the Federal Government. The entire community of states would have to take part in the sanctions, otherwise they would not be effective and would also distort business competition, said BDI referee, Heiko Willems. [31]

„The German economy will adhere to sanctions in case they are decided upon by the United Nations,“ said the CEO of the Federation of German Industries , Gerhard Handke. „But we do not believe in special sacrifices made by Germany“. [32]

The FDP (Free Democratic Party) faction in the German Bundestag was critical that German companies were intended to be deterred from conducting legal business by means of „informal sanctions.“ There should be legal security for companies, demanded Elke Hoff, the liberals‘ member of the Bundestag.[33]

Der Spiegel points out that German companies, which commit to a foreign boycott are in breach of foreign trade legislation as of 1993. This rule was introduced because a number of Arab states had demanded from their trade partners to renounce all business deals with Israel. Out of fear for their business volumes in Arab countries, many companies complied – and signed declarations to that effect. In order to prevent this, the legislation in question threatens penalties of up to 500,000 euros. [34]

 

German Business Ties to the IRGC

The White House wants the new sanctions to be focused on the IRGC, the government body believed to run Iran’s nuclear program [35] and has been working on a „menu“ of sanctions that could be imposed by the UN or by the US in coordination with the EU.[36] The sanctions could include expanding travel bans for individuals and institutions that have close ties to Iran’s government and the IRGC.

The IRGC has prospered while Iran has been under UN Security Council resolutions over the past years. In 2007 the IRGC has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US Congress and controls the „fundamentals of Iran’s economy, with over 800 companies involved in shipping and ship-building, banking, energy, chemicals, heavy construction and machinery, electricity, transport equipment, and import of tear gas for oppressing mass demonstrations.“ [37] However, Daniel Bernbeck, head of the German-Iranian Industry Group in June 2009 said that „doing business in Iran is a far cry from doing business with the government itself … I see no moral question here at all. We are not doing business with Iran, but with Iranian companies. […]“[38] The IRGC however, is, according to Ameri Goli from the Wall Street Journal, is Khamenei’s and the Iranian government’s „power base“ and European economic ties and trade is enhancing the growth of IRGC’s „web of companies“.[39]

German Investments in Iran

Traditionally, the Federal Republic of Germany is one of Iran’s most important trade partners. With more than 1,900 members, the Chamber of Commerce in Tehran is among Germany’s largest foreign trade chambers. In 2008, the Federal Republic will take part in six trade fairs in Tehran. Iran is placed 40th on the list of the most important buyers of German products. The Federal Government supports these investments with public subsidies. (Hermes-Bürgschaften).[40]

For two years, Germany has been reducing trade with the Islamic Republic step by step. In 2005, the volume of export still amounted to 4.3 billion euros. In 2006, the business volume decreased by 5.7 percent to 4.1 billion euros. In the first six months of 2007, it again shrank by 17.9 percent. Between January and November 2007, only goods worth 3.2 billion euros were said to be exported from Germany to Iran.[41]  German export circles expect that German exports to Iran will fall to a volume of below 1 billion euros as a consequence of the financial actions in 2008.[42]

At the same time, a new BFAI (German Office for Foreign Trade) report identified „considerable economic opportunities“ in Iran. „In spite of the lack of security which continues in 2008, there is very promising potential for cooperation and delivery transactions with Iran,“ the Handelsblatt wrote, quoting an undisclosed study. The best prospects for foreign suppliers reportedly were to be found in the auto industry, as well as in electronics and information technology. By contrast, direct investments were hardly noticeable.[43]

 

German Economic Policy Towards Iran

Until this time, the German Federal Government carried out a policy of „voluntary self-constraint“ as far as German enterprises are concerned. „Business leaders should think about whether new deals with Iran are really appropriate,“ one staff member described the strategy. Thus, the Federal Government advised Deutsche Bahn (German Railroad) and E.on-Ruhrgas (Ruhr Region Gas Company) not to carry out large projects with the Islamic Republic.[44]

On the other hand, the German Ambassador to Tehran, Herbert Honsowitz, assured the Iranian broadcast station Press TV that „the German Embassy is trying to maintain and improve relations between private firms of both countries.“ Honsowitz added that German exports have not been impaired thus far because they reached Iran via the free trade countries in the Gulf, such as, for example, Dubai.[45]

An inter-governmental body meant to counter illegal financial transactions that could be used for terrorist‘ purposes called Financial Action Task Force (FATF) could be formed in February 2010 as part of a new round of sanctions, reported the German trade paper Handelsblatt in December 2009. However, German banks and companies feel uneasy about the proposal from FATF, which requires financial institutions to reduce exports to Iran.[46]

In September 2009, Iran held its third Iran Gas Forum with representatives from Germany, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and Malaysia taking part in it.[47]

In December 2009, Angela Merkel said „our patience [with Iran] is sorely tested“ and that new sanctions must be taken into consideration if Iran continues with its attitude of non-compliance. [48]

After talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in September 2009, Merkel said: „We must try to set […] sanctions on the widest possible basis.“ [49]

In August 2009, Merkel threatened energy sanctions if Iran fails to cooperate with the international community on its nuclear weapons development program. „If there is no progress, we would have to react with further sanctions,“ Merkel said. She added: „If Iran got atomic weapons, it would be a dangerous situation. That is why sanctions would be justified. […] What is clear is that Tehran […] must not get the atomic bomb.“ [50]

On October 1, 2009, the P5+1 proposed that Iran ship its low-enriched uranium to Russia and subsequently to France before the end of the year 2009. Iran, however, told the IAEA that it would not send its stockpile of uranium out of the country. [51] „The clock is ticking,“ said Volker Perthes, Director of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. By the „end of the year“, he said, it will have to be clear „whether or not we are in a serious negotiating process.“ [52]

Credit Guarantees Issued by the Federal Government

The German Federal Government is still granting so-called Hermes-Bürgschaften, i.e., debt guarantees for deals with Iran. Yet credit guarantees were considerably reduced in the course of the last two years.[53]

In 2007, German export insurance companies categorized Iran next to last, thereby putting it into the most expensive category, which increased costs by 20 percent.[54]

In 2005, German companies had 1.4 billion euros at their disposal to insure their exports to Iran, yet Hermes-Bürgschaften decreased in 2006 to 1.16 billion euros, and in 2007, by more than 50 percent to approximately 503.4 million euros (of this, only 120 million in the second half of the year). In conjunction with this, the total volume of existing payment requests from already accepted trade guarantees with Iran amounted to 5.2 billion euros (2006: 5.6 billion euros).[55]

Export notifications from the Federal Office for Economy and Export Control (Bafa) take months.[56]  The United Nations‘ sanctions against Iran are said to have led to especially strict examinations of applications for export licenses, wrote Walther Otremba, Secretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Economics, according to the Financial Times of 6 February 2008 in an answer to an inquiry made by the FDP (Free Democratic Party) faction in the German Bundestag (parliament). At the same time, he emphasizes that the Federal Government will continue to issue „limited“ export licenses and guarantees.[57]

Increasing Imports and exports

Germany’s exports to Iran rose by 10,5 percent in the first 11 months of 2008 to $4,6 billion.[58] The Islamic Republic is ranked number 42 in the list of countries that Germany is exporting to.[59] According to the evaluation by the BFAI, a trend reversal could be discerned as far as imports were concerned. After imports had gone down in 2006, imports from Iran to Germany have increased, in 2007, by almost 50 percent to approximately 580 million euros. This increase was said to be due, above all, to a growth in oil products and agricultural produce, say BFAI expert Martin Karlhöfer and chief executive officer of the Federal Association for Wholesale and Foreign Trade (Bundesverband Groß- und Außenhandel, BGA), Jens Nagel.[60]

 

 

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[40] http://iran.ahk.de/

[41] „Deutschland fährt Exporte in den Iran offenbar stark zurück,“ Agence France Presse, February 12, 2008, http://de.news.yahoo.com/2/20080212/tbs-d-iran-uno-handel-aussenhandel-atom-f41e315_1.html ; „Wirtschaft warnt vor deutschen Iran-Sanktionen,“ Die Welt, November 13, 2007, http://www.welt.de/welt_print/article1357631/Wirtschaft_warnt_vor_deutschen_
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[52] Beste, Ralf: „Germany’s New Government Faces Tough Work Abroad,“ Der Spiegel Online, September 29, 2009, http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,651808,00.html

[53] Dempsey, Judy: „German Jews oppose trip to Iran,“ The New York Times, December 2, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/world/europe/22iht-german.4.20351477.html

[54] „Sanktionen verhindern neue Großprojekte in Iran,“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, July 30, 2007, p 9 ; „Ausfuhrgewährleistungen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Das Geschäftsjahr 2006 im Überblick,“ BMWI, p 66, http://agaportal.de/pdf/jahresbericht/aga_jb_2006.pdf

[55] „Deutschland fährt Exporte in den Iran offenbar stark zurück,“ Agence France Presse, February 12, 2008, http://de.news.yahoo.com/2/20080212/tbs-d-iran-uno-handel-aussenhandel-atom-f41e315_1.html ; Mufson, Steven; Wright, Robin: „Iran Adapts to Economic Pressure,“ The Washington Post, October 29, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801424_pf.html ; Rinke, Andreas: „Deutsche Importe steigen trotz politischen Drucks,“ Handelsblatt, January 8, 2008, http://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/aussenwirtschaft/deutsche-iran-importe-steigen-trotz-politischen-drucks;1374835

[56] Herrmann, Rainer: „Iran zeigt sich unbeeindruckt,“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 5, 2008, p. 12

[57] Herrmann, Rainer: „Iran zeigt sich unbeeindruckt,“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 5, 2008, p. 12

[58] Dempsey, Judy: „German Jews oppose trip to Iran,“ The New York Times, December 2, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/world/europe/22iht-german.4.20351477.html

[59] „Geschäfte mit den Mullahs,“ TAZ, June 28, 2009, http://www.taz.de/1/politik/deutschland/artikel/1/geschaefte-mit-den-mullahs/

[60] Herrmann, Rainer: „Iran zeigt sich unbeeindruckt,“ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 5, 2008, p. 12