“Lukoil, Russia’s second biggest oil producer, said on Tuesday it had decided not to go ahead with plans to develop projects in Iran at the moment due to the threat of US sanctions,” Reuters quoted a company official as saying.

“Considering the latest developments, I guess, it’s too early to say what our plans (about Iran) will be. For the moment, basically, we have everything on hold,” the official said.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington would pull out of Iran nuclear deal and reinstate nuclear sanctions on Iran.

This is while most world powers including Russia, China, and European Union have repeatedly stressed that keeping the deal is in the interest of world peace and security.

“We don’t plan to do anything material on the international M&A side,” Lukoil official noted.

European officials emphasized the fact that they have put on the agenda plans to support Iran nuclear deal and also foreign investment in Iran.

Reporter’s code: 50101