EIB, under pressure from the US, balks at EU plan to work in Iran

The European Investment Bank has balked at an EU proposal to do business in Iran to help offset US sanctions and save the 2015 nuclear deal - under pressure from the US, where the bank raises much of its funds.

The resistance from the European Union's lending arm underscores the limits of the bloc's ability to shield trade with Iran from the reimposition of US sanctions after President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear accord last month.

A total of six EU diplomats, EU officials and sources at the bank said that within the EIB there are growing concerns that the European Commission’s plan would imperil its multi-billion-dollar funding program.