The US sanctions on Iran have know come into effect with a stern warning from the US President to any company dealing with Iran to heed the sanctions or risk no longer dealing with the USA. The EU had been expected to update its blocking statute that will exempt European companies from the sanctions but for now it has advised companies not to deal with Iran amid concerns from some quarters that the EU will not be able to protect EU companies operating in Iran from the US measures.
All of the OEMs will have explored this new hurdle in great detail and have many resources to ensure they remain compliant, but the smaller traders that piled into Iran in the recent past will need to reassess their relationships and strategies in the region to test their jurisdiction risk management policies. With such a tense political situation and a constantly changing environment, firms need to ensure they have strong political and macro-economic risk management metrics in place to monitor their exposures almost daily.