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Last update - 12:14 01/12/2008
German firms seek to bypass Berlin sanctions on Iran
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent

As Germany continues to express its firm commitment to economic sanctions on Iran, major trading bodies within the country have been openly violating them.

A business conference held in Hamburg last week discussed possible ways to circumvent the sanctions and instead increase trading ties with Tehran.

Foreign Ministry officials fumed over the fact that the conference was being held, to no avail.
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According to a Jerusalem source, Israel received information last week that the conference, entitled "Sanctions on Iran and their practical implications on German companies," was slated to take place in Hamburg.

"It was clear to us that this title indicated a conference aimed entirely at teaching business people how to ignore the sanctions of the Security Council and European Union," the source said.

Israel's ire over the conference only increased after it was revealed that the conference's main sponsor had been none other than Iran's Melli Bank.

The Iranian bank is suspected of funding terror and of financing the Iranian nuclear project. The Unites States and EU have consequently imposed sanctions on the bank, freezing many of its assets.

Israel has since protested to German authorities, requesting that the conference be cancelled despite it being a private event. Israel's ambassador to Berlin has even called for the intervention of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The German response was ambiguous. At first the German officials stated there was not enough time to cancel the event. A later response said the private nature of the event rendered it outside the realm of government responsibility.

However, the Germans expressed their unease and told the Israeli ambassador they felt "great shame" in the fact that the conference was being held.

"We are trying to take action against trade with Iran, but we had no legal way to stop this from taking place," German officials said.

The Hamburg conference is the latest in a recent series of events that have raised Israel's ire over Germany's conduct on the Iranian issue. In September 2007 Germany sponsored a conference calling for increased trading ties with Tehran; in June Haaretz revealed an 18-percent rise in trade between the two countries over the first quarter of 2008, while over the same month a German gas company forged a deal with Iran worth 100 million euros.

Another awkward incident took place two months ago, when Germany's military envoy to Tehran participated in a parade in which missiles were exhibited bearing the slogan: "Wiping Israel off the map."

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      1.   If Haaretz had published this before the conference took place 12:16  |  Taly 01/12/08
      2.   taly and all the rest of the readers 12:44  |  scallywag 01/12/08
      3.   TRADING WITH IRAN 12:47  |  Alka Seltzer 01/12/08
      4.   Germany trading with Iran 13:11  |  Adam Berkley 01/12/08
      5.   Germany Trading with Iran (2) 13:14  |  Adam Berkley 01/12/08
      6.   Germans socially boycotted deserters from Wehrmaht decades after 13:39  |  Absolute Sweden 01/12/08
      7.   Germany and the Iranian extermination program 14:00  |  Jonathan S 01/12/08
      8.   Birds of a feather? 14:00  |  Harvey 01/12/08
      9.   8 tears of Bush`s policy led to nuclear Iran - food for thought 14:22  |  Radovan 01/12/08
      10.   German high tech trade 15:03  |  Dee 01/12/08
      11.   Trading with Iran #5 15:19  |  Jonathan S 01/12/08
      12.   Israel`s ire 15:38  |  Danny 01/12/08
      13.   offense vs. defense 17:10  |  who cares 01/12/08
      14.   Good for Germany and Iran 17:44  |  noname 01/12/08
      15.   it`s like that 18:12  |  christoph 01/12/08
      16.   Widerlich 19:09  |  S 01/12/08
      17.   Good for Israel 19:17  |  Axel 01/12/08
      18.   Ungratefull Israelis 21:58  |  Magnus K. 01/12/08
      19.   Germany. another face. 23:06  |  The Teacher/Instruct 01/12/08
      20.   High time Germany and EU scraps the Iran sanctions 23:38  |  anonymous 01/12/08
      21.   Breading UN Sanctions? 23:43  |  Alex 01/12/08
      22.   # 19 alex 00:26  |  Axel 02/12/08
      23.   Gefreiter Axelchen and Magnus sing together 01:10  |  Absolute Sweden 02/12/08
      24.   21st century economics 01:28  |  Capt Ahab 02/12/08
      25.   Germany gives only lip service to Israel 02:40  |  Lori 02/12/08
      26.   To Absolute Sweden 02:48  |  Magnus K. 02/12/08
      27.   To Absolute Sweden (2nd try) 04:25  |  Magnus K. 02/12/08
      28.   Nothing personal. Just business. 02:37  |  JW 13/10/09
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