Tillerson claims Europe can do business with Iran

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the US is not opposed to European countries doing business with Iran, contradicting President Donald Trump's belligerent rhetoric against Tehran.

Tillerson's remarks in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Friday came one week after Trump refused to certify the Iran nuclear deal and left its fate to the US Congress.

"The president's been pretty clear that it's not his intent to interfere with business deals that the Europeans may have under way with Iran," Tillerson told the Journal.

Trump has threatened a "total termination" of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran unless Congress tightens sanctions on the country, which could make business with Tehran even harder.  

Since the implementation of the deal, international banks have avoided handling Iran-related transactions for fear of falling foul of US regulations.

According to Iranian officials, US President Donald Trump tried to discourage European businesses from engaging with Iran during the G20 summit in Germany in July this year.

SS