Nokia has stated that it will not sign any new business agreements in Iran after the US pulled out of an international pact to ease sanctions on the Middle Eastern country last year.
While Nokia will meet all ongoing contractual obligations in the market, the vendor said it would be “quite challenging to reconcile the opposing foreign policy regimes of the US and the EU”. Nokia is headquartered in Finland, and the European Union will uphold the agreement to relax sanctions on Iran.
In a statement, Nokia said: “The changed US foreign and economic sanctions policy necessitates a reassessment of our operations in Iran which may require us to significantly reduce our business and maintain pre-existing contractual commitments in full alignment with applicable economic sanctions.”
Nokia’s clients in Iran include fixed-line operator HiWeb, mobile operator MTN Irancell, and the Mobile Communications Company of Iran. Last year, Nokia provided network equipment to these companies and delivered certain fixed services to regional operators, both directly and via local partners.
The company’s net sales in Iran for 2018 were in the region of €55 million. Nokia stated that none of its business conducted in the market involved any US staff members or affiliates.
