Reuters cited a U.S. official as saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his French counterpart a trip to Iran by French business executives was “not helpful” and gave the wrong impression that Tehran was open for business as usual.
Under an interim deal reached between Iran and six world powers last November, Tehran agreed to limit parts of its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of some international sanctions.
The relaxation in penalties has triggered a race among Western firms to explore lucrative business opportunities.
“Secretary Kerry has talked directly to Foreign Minister (Laurent) Fabius about the trade delegation … about how this is not helpful in this regard to ensure that in fact it is not business as usual,” Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told a hearing of U.S. lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday.
“Tehran is not open for business because our sanctions relief is quite temporary, quite limited and quite targeted,”she added.