Toyota said its vehicle exports to Iran do not
violate U.S. sanctions, but it decided to stop shipments because
companies continuing to deal with Iran have come under scrutiny from the
U.S. government, the daily said.
U.S. President Barack Obama had on July 1 signed a
law imposing tough new sanctions on Iran’s banking and energy sectors,
hoping to curb nuclear work that Tehran says is for energy production
but Washington suspects is aimed at bomb-making.
Toyota exported roughly 4,000 automobiles, such as
the Land Cruiser four-wheel-drive vehicle, to Iran in 2008. The number
fell to 250 in 2009, the daily said.
This year, its Iranian exports had reached 230 by the end of May, but no exports have been made since then, the Nikkei said.
On August 3, Japan approved new sanctions against
Iran in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution in June, including
adding 40 companies and an individual to a blacklist targeted for a
freezing of assets.
