Italy

Gemels is an Italian industrial valve manufacturer for the manufacturing, automotive, oil, agriculture, and earthmoving industries (Company Website).

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Gemels was an exhibitor in the 78th international Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition held in Tehran in 2012.

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Gemels valves are advertised for sale on the website of Iranian distributor Hydraulic Karan.

In September 2015 AGIP celebrated the launch of its Iran office with a high-profile reception.

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Agip is an Eni subsidiary that operates in the North Caspian Sea.

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"Another trader said the market was aware that Italian firms Agip (ENI.MI) and Saras (SRS.MI) were importing Iranian crude with the financing help from Italian banks. Agip and Saras were not immediately available for comments." (Reuters, "Shell, Italy maintain Iran oil trade," 9/28/10)

"May stop purchases of Iranian oil because of the difficulty of findings banks to finance the trade." Benoit Faucon and Sarah McFarlane, "King Dollar Tightens Noose on Iranian Economy," The Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2018.

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“We cannot defy the United States,” said a senior source at Italy’s Saras, which operates the 300,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) Sarroch refinery in Sardinia. Saras is determining how best to halt its purchasing of Iranian oil within the permitted 180 days, the source said, adding: “It is not clear yet what the U.S. administration can do but in practice we can get into trouble.” (6/6/2018).

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"Italian refiner Saras is worried about the market not having access to Iranian crude oil in light of new possible U.S. sanctions against Tehran. “I am worried about the overall scenario,” Saras CEO Dario Scaffardi said on a conference call. He said Iran was one of Saras’s main crude suppliers, though not the only one, adding for the time being nothing had changed." (5/14/2018)

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Italian oil refiner Saras (SRS.MI) has paid 160 million euros ($177 million) of the debt it owes Iran for crude oil bought before sanctions were imposed and its chief financial officer said the total debt to Tehran will be cleared next year. Analysts have estimated the company's Iranian debt at about 350 million euros and the company said it paid 50 million euros in the second quarter and 110 million euros in the third. "A further 100 million euros will be paid by year-end," CFO Franco Balsamo told analysts in a conference call on Monday's third-quarter results. "The rest will be paid in 2017." (Reuters, "Italy's Saras says it will clear Iranian oil debt in 2017," 11/8/2016).

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"Iran continues its quest for new crude buyers, especially in Europe, but its loyal customer base will continue to hinge on countries like India and China, whose demand for Iranian crude has observed a steady rise this year. Iran has found interest for its crude in some unusual places in the past few months as it continues it diversify its list of buyers. Earlier this month it agreed to sell 1 million barrels of crude oil to Hungary via Croatia as it seeks to widen its post-sanctions customer base, which now includes cargoes sold to oil major BP, France's Total, Greece's Hellenic Petroleum, Spain's Repsol and Cepsa, Russia's Lukoil, Poland's Grupa Lotos, Portugal's Petrogal and Italy's Saras and Iplom. Iran said it has held talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina this week as it hopes to expand its list of crude oil export destinations. However, its shipments to Asia remain the pillar of its export market." (Platts, "Analysis: Iran eyes new crude oil buyers, Asia remains linchpin," 11/1/2016).

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A report from June 2016 noted, "Saras SpA and Iplom SpA, have reportedly signed long term contracts with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to purchase crude oil from Iran. As of this week, in a contact with Saras SpA, Iran will export 60,000 to 65,000 barrels of oil per day to the company's refineries for one year." (Press TV, “Italians seal oil purchase deals with Iran,” 6/23/2016). 

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Dario Scaffardi, Saras’s Managing Director, discussed Saras’s engagement in the Iranian market, noting some banking difficulties. On such difficulties, he said, “I hope these will be resolved soon and we can start in a few months, maybe even weeks.”  (Reuters, “Saras looking to resume Iran crude trade in coming months,” 4/22/2016). 

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In April 2016, “Italy’s two largest oil and gas companies, Eni and Saras, seek to buy 170,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Iran. Eni and Saras have submitted their requests to the Iranian oil ministry for the purchase of 100,000 bpd and 70,000 bpd respectively.” (Tasnim News Agency, “Italian Firms Eye Importing 170,000 bpd of Crude from Iran,” 4/11/2016).

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"Other oil companies in the Mediterranean including Spain's Cepsa and three other Italian oil firms, ERG, Iplom and Saras have planned to take their last cargoes from Iran in June, other market sources said." (Reuters, "Eni suspends Iran's debt payments in oil," 5/31/2012)

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Saras imported 20,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day in both March and April of 2012. (Reuters, "Europe's Buyers Trim Iranian Oil Imports in April," 4/18/12)

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"Trading sources told Reuters that Italy's Saras, ERG and Iplom, Greece's Hellenic as well as Spain's Repsol have either extended or have not scrapped existing term supply contacts with Iran for 2012... Italian refiner Saras said it received about 10 percent of its feedstock from the Islamic Republic in 2011. 'A ban on Iran exports would cause a shortage in heavy crude oils, putting further pressure on already high oil prices, and compressing margins for all refiners,' said Massimo Vacca, Saras' head of investor relations." (Reuters, "EU firms renew Iran oil deals to win sanction reprieve," 1/12/12)

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"Italian oil refiner Saras SpA (SRS.MI), traditionally a big buyer of Libyan crude oil, said in a Reuters interview on Friday that it was looking at replacing oil shipments from Libya and had already slightly increased sour crude supplies from Iran." (Reuters, "Iran sells more oil as Libyan exports dwindle," 2/25/11)

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"Oil trade with Iran remains more difficult following tougher sanctions against the Islamic Republic, industry sources said, despite a message from the European Union that such operations are legal. Saras, an Italian oil refiner, said last week that transactions with Iran have become more challenging as banks are reluctant to get involved. Other European oil companies have made similar remarks privately. 'The banking side is the tough part. It is very tough. It has to be banks that haven't got any kind of interests in the United States,' said an Iranian crude oil customer in Europe. Iran is a major oil exporter and its production is equal to about 4.2 percent of daily world demand. The amount of Iranian crude sold to countries that are members of the International Energy Agency declined by 22 percent in August." (Reuters, "Credit hurdles remain hindrance to Iran oil trade," 11/18/10)

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"Another trader said the market was aware that Italian firms Agip (ENI.MI) and Saras (SRS.MI) were importing Iranian crude with the financing help from Italian banks. Agip and Saras were not immediately available for comments." (Reuters, "Shell, Italy maintain Iran oil trade," 9/28/10)

• "So why, according to sensitive trading records seen by the Guardian, did other European oil giants, including Shell, Total and API, increase their purchases? The answers illustrate the tendency of the increasingly complex measures being taken against Iran to throw up unintended consequences, and the apparent willingness of some oil firms to place profits ahead of the west's political strategy... Shell, Total and API all stressed they bought the oil at the market price and that no additional discount was received." (The Guardian, "Oil firms reap benefits of Iran's build-up of crude oil stocks," 9/27/2010) 

The following online reference to a “Banca Intesa SpA” office apparently located in Tehran, Iran (Private Banking Website, “Banks (Rep. Offices) Tehran”):

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"Privredna banka Zagreb is a commercial bank owned by Intesa Sanpaolo [group of Italy] and holds a total of €13.5 billion in assets," Bozo Prka, chief executive of the second largest bank in Croatia, said while introducing his financial institution to the Iranian representatives, the official news website of ICCIMA reported." (September 2017)

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New York’s top banking regulator on Thursday fined Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA and its New York branch $235 million for violations of the state’s laws prohibiting money laundering and bank secrecy, including the masking of transactions involving Iran, a sanctioned entity. The bank “specifically trained certain employees” to obscure money-processing activities involving Iran so those transactions couldn’t be properly flagged, according to the state Department of Financial Services. Milan-based Intesa Sanpaolo and its New York branch had “severe compliance failures” in its transaction-monitoring system and deliberately concealed information from bank examiners, DFS said... In regard to Iranian transactions, the bank used “a special process” to clear thousands of Iranian transactions between 2002 and 2006, worth more than $11 billion, through its New York branch during a period when Iran was subject to economic sanctions. The process omitted details in payment messages sent to New York that could have caused the transactions to be flagged for scrutiny. (Wall Street Journal, "Intesa Sanpaola Fined $235 Million by New York Regulator," 12/15/2016).

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Noted for conducting business with Iranian banks. (Avi Jorisch, "Iran's dirty banking," 2010)

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"Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. ('Intesa') has agreed to remit $2,949,030 to settle potential civil liability for apparent violations of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACR”), 31 C.F.R. part 515; the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations ('SSR'), 31 C.F.R. part 538; and the Iranian Transactions Regulations ('ITR'), 31 C.F.R. part 560.1 The Office of Foreign Assets Control ('OFAC') has determined that Intesa did not voluntarily self-disclose the apparent violations and that the apparent violations constituted a non-egregious case. As early as the late 1990s, Intesa maintained a customer relationship with Irasco S.r.l. ('Irasco'), an Italian company headquartered in Genoa, Italy that is owned or controlled by the Government of Iran ('GOI'). Despite Irasco’s ownership and line of business as an exporter of goods to Iran, and its financial and commercial associations with Iranian state-owned financial institutions, companies, and projects, Intesa failed to identify Irasco as meeting the definition of the GOI in the ITR and, at the time of the apparent violations, did not take appropriate measures to prevent the bank from processing transactions for or on behalf of Irasco that terminated in the United States and/or with U.S. persons. Intesa’s payment instructions for these transactions all identified Irasco as the ordering customer... Intesa processed 31 wire transfersfor Irasco totaling $3,142,565 between November 1, 2004, and December 8, 2006, in apparent violation of the ITR." (US Treasury Sanctions Enforcement Information for June 28, 2013)

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"On Aug. 21, 2003, Banca Intessa blocked a transaction for an unknown amount from China Precision Machinery Import Export to a second party. But a few months later, the bank was given an OFAC license to release China Precision Machinery's funds to the other party in the transaction. This, despite the fact that the Chinese government-owned company had been sanctioned multiple times for providing sensitive technology to Iran and other countries under the Treasury Department's weapons of mass destruction sanctions program. OFAC declined to say how much money was released back to a company the United States has called a 'serial proliferator,' citing the objections of a different party to the transaction, presumably Banca Intesa. Within months of granting the license, OFAC again penalized China Precision Machinery under its weapons of mass destruction program, this time based on 'credible information' that it and other companies had been transferring goods to Iran that could be used to 'make a "material contribution" to weapons of mass destruction or cruise missile or ballistic missile systems.' OFAC's director, Adam J. Szubin, said that at the time the license was granted to Banca Intesa, the agency did not have the authority to keep the funds blocked; firms sanctioned under the weapons of mass destruction sanctions regime face narrower penalties, such as losing United States government contracts and losing the ability to export their products into the United States. He said the amount in this case was small - under $10,000. And he noted that it was not until several years later, with the levying of additional, tougher sanctions against the Chinese company, that OFAC received the authority to order its funds frozen." (New York Times, "Licenses Granted to U.S. Companies Run the Gamut," 12/24/10)

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"ABAN Commercial & Industrial Ltd. had accounts at the Rome branch of Iran's government-owned Bank Sepah, records show. Bank Sepah has longstanding ties to Banca Intesa, although no evidence has surfaced to date showing that Banca Intesa facilitated illegal acquisitions of sensitive materials by ABAN, people with knowledge of the matter said." (The Wall Street Journal, "Fresh Clues of Iranian Nuclear Intrigue," 1/16/09)

BANCA UBAE lists a consultant in Iran on its website. (2/13/2018)

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Noted for conducting business with Iranian banks. (Avi Jorisch, "Iran's dirty banking," 2010)

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Banca UBAE maintains a relationship with a local consultant in Tehran.  According to the consultant's 2011 report, Banca UBAE has "an excellent business relationship with the banking system and effective and professional contacts at the operational levels."  He also applauded Banca UBAE's "commendable initiatives and efforts in trying to find solutions for trade finance problems between Italy and Iran." (2011 Cached Version of Company Website)

Soilmec is a large Italy-based international construction company that specializes in below-ground construction. It operates 12 subsidiary companies and has 45 distributors (Company Website). 

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Soilmec has a full branch in Tehran which handles "sales, customer care, technological assistance, spare parts, and maintenance." 

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Soilmec lists on its website Iranian drilling company Tahran Co. as a major client for drilling and foundation equipment.

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Soilmec manufactures a wide range of tunneling equipment. The New York Times has reported that Iran is using an underground tunnel network to hide missiles and nuclear facilities.

Lists a distributor in Tehran, Iran.

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Indeco is an Italian manufacturer of hydraulic breakers, with a number of subsidiaries, and regional headquarters in the USA, UK, and Australia.

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Touranto Co. P.J.S., an Iranian company supplies/construction equipment distributor, is listed as an authorized distributor on Indeco's Italian website (Indeco Italian Company Website). 

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Touranto lists Indeco products under the products section of its website (Touranto Company Website).

"Head of ISA said that due to the cost considerations of the project, originally developed with Italy’s Carlo Gavazzi Space Company, the satellite will be sent to an Iranian science museum, Mehr News Agency reported. Mohsen Bahrami, said the $10 million project was developed as a tool for collecting data on ground water resources in the country, as well as studying the regions weather. In 2003 while undergoing tests in Italy’s Carlo Gavazzi’s research unit, the satellite was seized by European Union sanctions compliance officers citing sanctions against Iran. Following the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed in 2015, otherwise known as the nuclear deal, the half finished satellite was handed back to Iran after the country had lobbied for the costly project." (July 5, 2017). 

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"The Italian technology company helped Iran with its Mesbah communications satellite program. "Communications satellites" can of course be easily diverted for military purposes and used, for example, as spy satellites and, more ominously, to help pinpoint nuclear strikes. Despite these risks, the Mesbah project enjoyed Rome's political backing, as La Stampa reported at the time. Italy's ambassador to Tehran back then, Riccardo Sessa, was even present at the 2003 signing ceremony of the deal, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

Under the terms of the agreement, Carlo Gavazzi Space did not just sell a finished product but also transferred technology and know-how. In a 2005 presentation of the Mesbah project posted on the Internet, L. Zucconi, managing director at Carlo Gavazzi Space, explained that his company "has worked in close cooperation with ITRC (Iran Telecommunication Research Center) / IROST (Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology) in the design, development and manufacturing of the MESBAH system. . . . The Flight Model has been manufactured partly in Italy and partly in Iran, with the work sharing scheme defined together with ITRC / IROST. . . . The MESBAH satellite will be controlled from one Ground Station located at Teheran and operated by ITRC / IROST personnel. . . . The 1000 (user) terminals to be used for the service will be produced by Iranian Industries."

"Having initiated the MESBAH project, the I.R. (Islamic Republic) of Iran has acquired a space infrastructure and space capacity," making Iran "a new player in the space community prepared to face new challenging projects." Carlo Gavazzi Space "look[s] forward for future cooperation."

Two months ago, Gen. Mahdi Farahi, director of Iran's Aerospace Industries, said Carlo Gavazzi Space would also help launch into space the successor model, the Mesbah-2. The Italian company denies this." (The Wall Street Journal, "The Rome-Tehran Axis," 1/14/2010)

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Outline of the MESBEH project. (Iranian Telecommunication Research Center, "The MESBEH Project", September 2005)

On February 16, 2021, Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System removed Danieli from its Iran Prohibited COmpanies List. 

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As of August 15, 2019, the state of Iowa listed Danieli on its Iran scrutinized companies list.

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According to its annual report filed on June 30, 2018, "With regard to the two Iranian contracts signed with Ghadir Energy Investment Company…The determination of the Italian Government and the European Union, together with other countries, to continue economic cooperation with Iran will hopefully lead to a solution that should allow the completion of the loan procedures for these two contracts and their subsequent start." (Danieli Website, “Annual Report,” 8/30/2018).

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"Italian steel manufacturer Danieli has halted work on finding financial coverage for orders it won in Iran worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 billion) following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. “With the withdrawal of the U.S. from the treaty the banks are no longer ready to fund Iranian projects for fear of secondary sanctions,” Danieli CEO Alessandro Trivillin said on Thursday. In 2016 Danieli signed a framework commercial agreement with Iran worth about $5.7 billion." (5/18/2018)

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In 2018 the U.S. state of  Iowa listed Danieli on its Iran scrutinized companies list rendering Danieli ineligible for investment and/or state contracting.

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Danieli group signed $6.2 billion with Iran during President Hassan Rouhani's visit to Italy in January 2016 for the cooperation in the steel and aluminum sectors.--

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"The Italian Danieli Groups steel machinery production plant was inaugurated on Tuesday by Industries, Mining and Trade Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh and the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, Mehdi Karbasian." (May 4, 2017).

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"Several steel giants, including Italy’s Danieli, Spain’s Sarralle Equipos Siderogicos, Germany’s SMS Group and Russia’s INTECO, have been actively participating in the Iranian industry though they seek to bolster ties with Iran. As such, Danieli Persia plant has been constructed in a joint venture between Iran and Italy and will begin production in April 2017. The plant will mark the biggest steel factory in the Middle East and will be operated only by Iranian engineers, as asserted by Danieli CEO Gianpietro Bendetti." (Mehr News Agency, "Iran's Steel Market in 'New Normal' Era," 2/18/2017).

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"The Italian Danieli group, which is one of the world’s largest suppliers of equipment and plants to the metal industry, is set to revamp Khorasan Steel Company’s electric arc furnace technology to boost the steel mill’s steel production capacity, Minews reported. The two companies’ representatives signed a memorandum of agreement in Khorasan Razavi Province on Wednesday. The company says the new EAF technology, which is expected to take one year to install, will also reduce the mill’s raw material and energy consumption." (August 20, 2016).

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Danieli reportedly participating in the Iran Mines & Mining Industries Summit, being held in Tehran May 31-June 1, 2015. (IMIS Website, “List of companies participating in IMIS”)

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“As economic sanctions eased last month under a temporary accord, Iran is shaping up as a hot, untapped opportunity for Western steel exporters, particularly high-grade varieties…About 45 producers sent representatives to a steel conference last month in Tehran to study export opportunities and investing in Iran’s domestic industry, Karbasian said. More than 10 steelmakers contacted by Bloomberg declined to comment or said they hadn’t attended the event…Danieli SpA of Italy and Germany’s SMS Siemag gave addresses at the steel event in Tehran, Karbasian said. A person familiar with Danieli’s situation said the company attended the conference, as the Iranian market is interesting and Danieli is evaluating possible opportunities there.” (Bloomberg, “Iran Thaw Seen Re-Stoking $6 Billion Market for Steel,” 3/12/14)

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"An Italian business delegation will visit Iran to explore investment opportunities in the Islamic Republic. The delegation, headed by Chairman of Iran-Italy Chamber of Commerce Rosario Alessandro, will start a four-day visit to Iran on Saturday, said the Press Office of the Iranian Embassy in Rome, Press TV reported…Meanwhile, Italy's Danieli company said it is ready to build a factory in Iran to design and produce mining equipment and machineries. Danieli Chief Executive Officer Gianpietro Benedetti, who is visiting Iran after four years, in a meeting with Mehdi Karbasian, director of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), on Friday referred to Danieli's years of presence in Iran and said the company is keen to expand relations in the mining industry. ‘The construction project of a factory for designing and production of equipment and machineries is currently underway in Shahreza, Isfahan province, and will come on stream within 15 months,’ Benedetti said. Benedetti said Danieli is ready to share its know-how and years of experience in steel industry with Iranian firms. The IMIDRO chief said his organization wants Danieli to cooperate in building a steel factory in Iran and will make every necessary preparation in this regard…Danieli ranks among the three largest suppliers of equipment and plants to the global metal industry. The company has seven factories in Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Thailand, China and India. Its headquarters is in Buttrio in northeast Italy.” (Iran Daily, “Italian business delegation due,” 2/22/14)

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“Italian company, Danieli, has expressed its readiness to establish a factory in Iran for manufacturing mining machinery, ISNA reported on February 21. Danieli's CEO Gianpietro Benedetti made the remarks at a meeting with Iranian Deputy Industry Minister Mehdi Karbasian in Tehran. Currently, a steel plant is being built by Danieli in Iran's city of Shahreza, in Isfahan province, he said, adding that the project will be inaugurated by in the next 15 months.” (Trend, “Italian firm ready to build mining machinery factory in Iran,” 2/21/14)

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"Iranian special steel producer Iran Alloy Steel plans to construct a new seamless pipe mill, Steel Business Briefing is informed by the Iranian state metal and mining group Imidro. A consortium formed of Danieli and another company has signed a contract to construct the new facility named Yazd 1, says Iran Alloy Steel’s director of expansion projects Hokmolah Babaei. The capacity of the new mill, which is expected to be completed within 33 months, will be about 525,000 tonnes/year, a source informs SBB." (Steelmaker.ru, "Danieli will Build New Seamless Pipe Mill for Iranian Special Steel Producer," 4/21/11)

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"The list of about 1,000 Italian companies active in Iran includes such household names as Eni—the energy giant is Iran's biggest business partner in Europe according to the Italian-Iranian Chamber of Commerce—as well as Fiat, Ansaldo, Maire Tecnimont, Danieli and Duferco." (Wall Street Journal, The Rome-Tehran Axis, 1/14/2010)

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"Italy's Danieli & Company has been awarded the job of setting up a big facility in Khuzestan to build steel sheet for oil and gas pipelines. The $232 million contract signed on 25 October requires a separate financing deal being negotiated with Mediocredito Centrale." (MEED, "Iran: Danieli Steel Contract awaits Finance Line." 1999)