For Iranian gas, the EU is ready to go against the dollar

If the US does not calm down with the sanctions, the EU will buy Iranian oil for the euro.

Even Tusk is furious

When threats of sanctions hang over European business in Iran, even the most bureaucratic European bureaucrats do not stand. Unlike the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, who never disdained criticism against the US and defended the Nord Stream-2, the head of the European Council, Donald Tusk, often refers to transatlantic solidarity. He shared the anti-Russian "pressure" of the United States in the form of military exercises near the borders of Russia, also accused Moscow of poisoning Skripal and called for stopping the construction of a Russian gas pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic.

But in Iran, apparently, it's different for Tusk. The president of the European Council criticized the release of US President Donald Trump from the nuclear deal with Iran:

Looking at latest decisions of @realDonaldTrump someone could even think: with friends like that who needs enemies. But frankly, EU should be grateful. Thanks to him we got rid of all illusions. We realise that if you need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.

Trump's "Dirty tricks"

All this anger from Brussels is justified by practical material considerations. Trump from the first day of taking office began to beat the economic interests of the EU, at least to the interests that the global elite of the Old World personifies. First of all, the American leader buried an unborn agreement on the transatlantic partnership (TTIP). Then Washington threatened with sanctions the companies that work in the Nord Stream-2 project.

In particular, this decision could affect the interests of the Anglo-Dutch Shell, the Austrian OMV, the French Engie and the German Uniper and Wintershall. These two steps did not hurt Europe very much. Regarding the TTIP within the EU itself, there was a lot of opposition because of fears of cheap GMO products from overseas. As for Nord Stream-2, Juncker, Merkel and the rest of the EU leaders at the G-20 summit in Hamburg gave a tough rebuff to Trump on this issue.

Pressure from the United States gained momentum. In Europe, serious concern began when Trump introduced import duties on steel and aluminum. Macron and Merkel arrived in Washington a few days before the expiration of the exemption for the EU from tariffs that have already begun to spread to Chinese firms. Under pressure from Berlin and Paris, the White House extended the terms of the exclusion. And, finally, a nuclear deal with Iran, in which Trump did not compromise. At the risk of quarreling with the EU, but for Israel's sake, the US on May 8 withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China in 2015. Tehran's refusal to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting sanctions has opened up great opportunities for European TNCs.

France is afraid of losing the "gold mine"

After the lifting of the sanctions on January 1, 2016, as if competing among themselves, European companies rushed to the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). The French (Total, Airbus), German (BASF, Siemens) and Italian (Eni) TNCs concluded multi-billion deals on the development of Iranian oil and gas fields, the supply of energy to Europe and the development of infrastructure in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). Most of all, probably, now worry the Italians. The daughter of the oil giant Eni, Saipem, has signed an agreement worth $ 5 billion with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

The French are also concerned. The oil giant Total S.A. has allocated a billion dollars for the development of the 11th phase of the South Pars gas field, which has a 50 percent share. The remaining 30% and 20% belong to Chinese CNPC and Iranian Petropars, respectively. So, if the US Treasury Department introduces expanded sanctions, Total may lose a "gold mine" in the Iranian gas sector, and the place will be occupied by the Chinese, as the head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ali Cardor said.

There are risks for another French company - Airbus, which has signed a contract for selling 100 passenger aircraft to Iran. And it does not seem strange  that a few days after the statements of Europe on the support of the JCPOA, Airbus started having problems with the WTO. For some reason, the World Trade Organization considered that the European aircraft construction concern was receiving illegal subsidies in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, which "infringed on the interests" of the American corporation Boeing.

The US withdrawal from the JCPOA really, as Macron said, "opens the Pandora's box." Clashes in Syria, where Israel, after receiving carte blanche from Washington, bombs the positions of the pro-Iranian militia - only the tip of the iceberg in the onset battle of the two shores of the Atlantic. As well as the aggressive actions of Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza, which the EU countries unanimously called unacceptable. The main arena of the struggle will be financial markets, energy and economy of Iran.

From defense to attack

The US Treasury has already announced that sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran will come into force in 90-180 days. Since August 6, the ban on the purchase of dollars, steel, coal and precious metals will be restored, Iranian imports to the US are stopped and operations with Iran's government bonds are limited. On May 9, Washington imposed sanctions against Iranian defense structures, and on May 15, the head of the Central Bank of Iran fell under restrictions. Formal pretexts for new American sanctions are Tehran's support of Hezbollah, which Israel is fighting in Lebanon and Syria, as well as expansion of Iranian influence in the entire Middle East, from Yemen to Lebanon, from Syria to Iraq.

While the US scares Europe with sanctions in Iran, not excluding direct restrictive measures against the active European American TNCs, Brussels only strengthens its determination to maintain a nuclear deal. At a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his colleagues from France, Germany and Britain reached an agreement with Tehran on how to preserve the JCPOA. Brussels is ready to move from defense to attack. The European Union is ready to buy Iranian oil for the euro instead of dollars. If this happens, the financial battles will unfold. Let's not forget that one of the Middle Eastern dictators paid for the idea of trading in the euro not only with a political career, but also with his own head.