When the E3 triggered the JCPOA snapback in September 2025, Europe gambled that reimposing UN sanctions would pressure Iran. Instead, it permanently surrendered a €27 billion trade relationship to China and Russia.
Renault built a 15-year industrial partnership in Iran, only to abandon it when US sanctions returned in 2018. Chinese automakers are filling the gap — and Europe’s window is closing.
In 2011, the EU and Iran exchanged €27 billion in goods. By 2025, that figure had fallen to €3.72 billion. As China fills the vacuum, Europe’s decade-long economic retreat from Iran looks less like strategy and more like surrender.
Lufthansa Technik’s missed opportunities in the Iranian aviation market and what it is missing out on.
Europe’s largest mining company, Eramet, misses out on $22 billion opportunity in Iran’s vast mineral reserves.
How the re-imposition of sanctions led to a loss of €500 million for ATR and the EU aerospace sector.
The Airbus-Iran deal loss of €22B exposes EU’s missed opportunities with Iran.