Major banks and businesses in Europe are under threat from the United States unless they cut their ties with Iran. But the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce says small-and-medium-sized companies will continue to trade with Iran, as the European Union fights back against US sanctions. CGTN's Zhang He has more.

German trade relations with Iran began to revive after the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. But that recovery is under threat from new US sanctions. Already, several major German companies are saying they won't do new deals with Iran. However, small and medium-sized business hope they can continue trading with Iran with government help.

MICHAEL TOCKUSS MANAGING MEMBER OF THE BOARD, GERMAN-IRANIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE "A large number of small and medium-sized companies will continue the trade with Iran because they don't have big setup in the United States. They have perhaps just trading relations with the United States and they are not easy to attack. They will continue it and they will be the backbone of our export in the future."

The EU is fighting back, with a sanctions-blocking measure to prevent European companies from complying with any US sanctions. They are also discussing other possible measures with Iran to support small and medium-sized businesses.

MICHAEL TOCKUSS MANAGING MEMBER OF THE BOARD, GERMAN-IRANIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE "Proposals now on the tables, especially from France we have the proposal to include the European Central Banks in these transactions. We can not imagine that the United States will put European Central Bank on sanction list because it will stop the financial transaction exchange between Europe and the United States totally."

The counter measures mean Europeans may be heading for a clash with the United States. As EU president Donald Tusk said, 'With friends like that, who needs enemies?

CORNELIUS ADEBAHR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, GERMAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS "It is unilateral re-imposition of sanctions. They are not making a lot of friends. They are very powerful. That's true. They may get what they want at the end. But they also propel others to band together against the US dominance of the world economy. With this harsh sanctions, the United States also overreach by creating more resistance."

ZHANG HE HAMBURG "European leaders have vowed to protect their companies' interests. However, at the moment, most German businesses prefer to wait for further developments until they find ways to bypass the US sanctions. ZH CGTN Hamburg."