(Adds background in paragraphs two, 10, 11 and 12.)
By Benoit Faucon
LONDON--Iran is asking French oil giant Total SA (TOT) to resume
refueling its passenger aircraft and has even raised the question
with the French president, an Iranian official said recently.
The request illustrates Iranian hopes that the election in May
of a new French administration would lead to a thaw between the two
countries. However, the French authorities have so far not eased
any trade restrictions on Iran and continue to block even
unsanctioned transactions from Iranian banks.
An Iranian official asked French President Francois Hollande
last month to intercede with Total over the refueling of its
aircraft. "He said he would look into it," the Iranian official
said.
The French presidency referred calls from Dow Jones Newswires to
the foreign affairs ministry, which didn't return several requests
for comment on the matter.
Under Mr. Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, France led a
European push to tighten sanctions against Iran, culminating in a
European Union embargo July 1.
Tehran also appealed directly to Total's Chief Executive
Christophe de Margerie for the resumption of refueling of the
national airline planes, the person said.
A Total spokesperson confirmed the company had stopped
"deliveries of jet fuel to Iran Air in March 2011, due to the
evolution of the relationship between Iran and the international
community."
Many oil companies in Europe halted refueling to state-owned
Iran Air after the U.S. banned the sale of fuel products to Iran.
The likes of Total--which has sizeable operations in North
America--feared they could run into trouble with Washington.
However, some jet fuel suppliers continue to supply Iran Air.
Iran Air's aircraft calling at the U.K's Heathrow airport--where
jet fuel providers stopped supplies in 2010, are refueling in
another country on the way back from London to Tehran, according to
the Iranian airline's Website.
The Islamic Republic hopes France will soften its stance under
Mr. Hollande, who was elected in May. But though the new
administration has taken a less hawkish approach to Iran than under
Sarkozy, tight restrictions on Iranian dealings in the country
remain.
It emerged Tuesday that car maker PSA Peugeot Citroen SA (UG.FR,
PEUGY) and hundreds of smaller firms are losing business as the
government withholds 220 million euros set aside by an Iranian bank
for future payments for exports, people familiar with the matter
told Dow Jones Newswires.
The payments are being withheld due to a fears they could harm
Peugeot's alliance with U.S. auto-maker General Motors Co.
(GM).
Write to Benoit Faucon at benoit.faucon@dowjones.com (Geraldine
Amiel in Paris contributed to this report.)
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires