Merkel's Iran sanction policy very costly for German firms: daily

Berlin, Jan 30, IRNA -- German companies are paying a high cost for Chancellor Angela Merkel's controversial Iran sanction policy which is mainly aimed at pandering to Israel, the Duesseldorf-based business daily Handelsblatt said in an editorial on Friday.

Germany's business community is paying a heavy price as a result of recent high-level talks between Merkel and Israeli leaders in which the chancellor vowed to support a tightening of the Iran embargo, the paper said.

It seriously questioned whether Merkel's hardline backing of Israel in its quest to isolate Iran economically, could really help end the row over Tehran's nuclear program.

The daily slammed Merkel for blocking also legal business deals between Germany and Iran.

It urged the German government to think whether western sanctions against Iran have yielded any results.

The newspaper also criticized Merkel for following an anti-Iran strategy which has turned into "a personal project" for the chancellor who is pursuing a Middle East policy which is only geared at satisfying Israel's political demands.

The German government is reportedly split over Merkel's sanction strategy against Tehran.

The German Economic Ministry has openly doubted the effectiveness of Iran sanctions./end