German exports to Iran rise despite diplomatic tensions

German exports to Iran rose last year, according to data seen by Reuters, despite Western condemnation of Tehran’s months-long crackdown against protests.

German exports to Iran climbed 12.7 percent year-on-year from January to November 2022 to around €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion), data from the federal statistics office showed.

That exceeded the full-year volume for 2021 of around €1.4 billion, but remains a fraction of total exports from Europe’s largest economy, which reached €1.38 trillion in 2021.

Germany, like its allies, has expressed outrage over a government crackdown on protests in Iran sparked by the death in morality police custody of Mahsa Amini in September.

Berlin is currently pushing for a fourth package of European Union sanctions and has repeatedly summoned the Iranian ambassador over the issue, most recently to express condemnation of the latest execution of protesters.