Von Januar bis Juli 2012 gingen die deutschen Lieferungen nach Iran um 22% zurück und er­reich­ten einen Wert von 1370 Mio. €, allerdings lag das Gewicht der Lieferungen 136% höher als im Vergleichszeitraum 2011. Die iranischen Lieferungen nach Deutschland verzeichneten einen wertmäßigen Rückgang von 61% und lagen bei 231 Mio. €, bei einem gewichtsmäßigen Rück­gang von 75%. Das Handelsvolumen der beiden Länder ging um 32% zurück.

Even after decades of diplomatic estrangement and tightening economic sanctions, American products manage to find their way into the Iranian marketplace. The routes are varied: back channel exporters, licensing workarounds and straightforward trade for goods not covered by the U.S. embargoes over Iran's nuclear program. …   …http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21544605/buying-american-tehran-apples-razors-and-coke

 Reuters    Wind turbines in Roudbar, Iran

In recent months, Iran's nuclear, oil and natural-gas industries have been the subject of intensifying sanctions from the international community. Now the country wants to develop a sector in which it has more leeway: renewables.  At a recent Tehran exhibition, local companies, some of which are doing business with European companies, displayed domestically made solar panels and wind turbines. "Fossil fuels will run out, but wind will always be available and no one can put sanctions on it," says Ali Shirazi Tabar, a mechanical expert at Mapna Group one of Iran's largest power contractors.  Already, Iran has the largest installed renewable-energy capacity in the Middle East, with 9,385 megawatts, according to the green-energy information database Energici.   ...    ...

...   Iranian officials, meanwhile, have made it clear they want to push clean energy. In May, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earmarked about $620 million in government funding to support such projects. The government sees renewables as a way to alleviate pollution, a common problem in congested cities such as Tehran. It also sees an opportunity for Iran to reduce its oil dependency.

Local geography will help. The Lut Desert in eastern Iran, for instance, has the hottest land surface temperature on record, at 70.7 Celsius, or 159.3 Fahrenheit, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. And the Global Wind Energy Council identifies the country's mountainous west and northeast as holding unique wind corridors.  ...   ...

...   ...   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443659204577574972899961532.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

FRANKFURT—At least several European banks that vowed to stop doing business with Iran have kept handling billions of euros in transactions for Iranian entities and foreign companies with operations there, a review of regulatory filings and other documents by The Wall Street Journal shows.

The dealings aren't suspected of violating any sanctions, which are looser for the Continent's banks under European Union rules than prohibitions imposed by the U.S. But some government officials and banking experts said the banks are risking embarrassment or regulatory problems in the U.S. as it scrutinizes financial transactions with sanctioned countries.

"The risk to reputation and legal standing is great," said Iain Begg, a professor at the London School of Economics, adding that any bank still active in Iran could jeopardize its access to the U.S.

Germany's Deutsche Bank AG handled as much as $2.8 billion in transactions with Iran last year. Other banks still doing business in Iran include France's BNP Paribas SA, Banco Santander SA of Spain, ING Groep NV of the Netherlands and HSBC Holdings PLC of the U.K.   …     ….    ….

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