Siemens Turns its Back on Iran, Tehran’s Challenge Goes to The Hague

Siemens Turns its Back on Iran, Tehran’s Challenge Goes to The Hague
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Siemens Turns its Back on Iran, Tehran’s Challenge Goes to The Hague

Siemens Turns its Back on Iran, Tehran’s Challenge Goes to The Hague

Iran’s legal challenge against renewed sanctions by the United States goes before the UN’s top court Monday, as Tehran seeks to avert painful punitive measures that could hurt its still fragile economy, AFP reported on Friday.

Tehran filed a suit against US President Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose economic sanctions at the Hague-based International Court of Justice last month.

The ICJ is expected to take a couple of months to decide whether to grant Tehran’s request for a provisional ruling, while a final decision in the case could actually take years, the news agency said.

Meanwhile, German industrial manufacturing giant Siemens said it was scaling back its Iran business after the reimposition of economic sanctions by the US, the German news agency dpa reported Friday.

The Munich-based company explained it would take appropriate steps "to bring business activities in Iran in line with the changing multilateral situation."

Siemens said it would continue to ensure compliance with all export restrictions and regulations "including US secondary sanctions.”

The US Embassy in Germany welcomed the news in a post on Twitter, pointing out that Siemens was not the only German company to leave Iran.

“We are pleased to see Siemens joining other German companies like deutschetelekom, Deutsche Bahn, and Daimler in leaving Iran,” the tweet said.

Last May, Siemens Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas told reporters the company would closely monitor the situation in Iran after Trump pulled the US out of a nuclear deal.

“We are assessing the implications of the Iran decision,” Thomas had said.

Trump slapped fresh punitive measures on Iran in early August after pulling out of the nuclear deal negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama. Trump accuses Tehran of financing terrorism.



US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
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US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)

US House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Israel to address the parliament on June 22, he said on Wednesday.

"Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements," Johnson said in an emailed statement.

Punchbowl News, which first reported Johnson's plan, said the House Speaker was expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the trip.

Johnson did not provide further details on the planned trip.

Johnson announced the visit as Israel presses on with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 20 months after it launched its offensive there in response to a deadly incursion into Israel led by the Palestinian group Hamas.

On Tuesday, Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel called the action "outrageous" and said the Israeli government would hold a meeting early next week to decide how to respond.