Israel and the United States are pressuring Germany to block Iran from withdrawing some €300 million ($350 million) in cash from the country's central bank out of concern Tehran will use the funds to sponsor terrorist activity.
According to the German daily Bild, Tehran plans to withdraw the money from Deutsche Bundesbank accounts held by the European-Iranian Trade Bank.
Tehran has argued it needs access to the funds in order to contend with U.S. sanctions, set to go into effect in a few months, that will prevent Iranian citizens from using standard credit cards overseas once they are enacted.
German intelligence officials say they have not seen any evidence to corroborate U.S. and Israeli concerns. This despite the fact that the man Iran has tasked with negotiating with the Germans on the repatriation of the funds is Ali Terzali, assistant to the head of the international department of the Central Bank of Iran and one of the figures the U.S. has slapped with sanctions for transferring funds to the Revolutionary Guards and its elite black-ops arm, the Quds Force.
The U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran in May, restoring harsh economic sanctions on Tehran that also prohibit foreign companies from doing business with Iran. European parties to the agreement, who say the accord was the best way to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, have said they would make every effort to keep the deal intact.
Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated Germany's commitment to the nuclear non-proliferation agreement with Iran on Monday but said it was for individual firms to decide if they wanted to invest there.
Merkel said companies, which could risk punitive sanctions from the U.S. if they do business with Iran, must decide for themselves if they wanted to take that risk.
"We remain committed to the nuclear agreement. We think it was well negotiated," Merkel said. "There is more that needs to be negotiated with Iran, but we think it is better to stay in the agreement."
