EU–Iran trade fell to its lowest level in two decades in 2025 due to sanctions. Trade continues on a limited scale, with Germany accounting for the largest share.
Energy prices are rising sharply as oil markets react to the ongoing war in Iran, where energy facilities in Gulf countries have been targeted, raising concerns about supply disruption.
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In the EU–Iran economic relations, this marks the latest stage of a more than a decade-long period of gradually deteriorating economic ties due to sanctions.
In late January 2026, the EU adopted new sanctions over serious human rights violations and Iran’s continued support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Despite this, trade continues, albeit on a much smaller scale than in the past.
In 2025, total trade in goods between the EU and Iran was €3.72 billion, according to Eurostat. EU imports were worth €0.76bn, while exports totalled €2.97bn. This resulted in a trade surplus of about €2.2bn in the EU's favour.
Two-way trade in services totalled €1.56bn in 2024. EU imports of services were €0.69bn, while exports reached €0.87bn.
Overall, Iran remains a minor EU trade partner. In 2025, it accounted for just 0.1% of EU exports, while its share of imports was close to zero. In the mid-2000s, both shares were higher, around 1% or slightly more.
The sharp drop is particularly clear in goods trade. EU–Iran trade reached €23.8bn in 2005. It rose to a peak of over €27bn in 2011.
By 2025, it had fallen to €3.7bn, nearly €1bn less than the €4.6bn recorded in 2024.
After the 2011 sanctions, trade dropped to €6.1bn in 2013, before gradually recovering to €20.7bn. This increase was largely linked to Iran’s nuclear deal under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trade fell again to €5.1bn in 2019 and has continued downward amid renewed sanctions.
Germany: Largest trade partner
Germany is Iran’s largest trading partner within the EU, accounting for 31.8% of total trade in 2025. Imports from Iran were €218mn, while exports reached €963mn, down from €1.27bn in 2024.
Italy ranks as Iran’s second-largest trading partner in the EU, accounting for 15.6% of total trade. It imported €132mn worth of goods and exported €447mn.
The Netherlands ranked third, accounting for 15.5% of total EU trade with Iran. This is up from 13.3% in 2024. It imported €58mn worth of goods from Iran and exported €517mn.
Despite ranking third in trade volume, it remained the EU’s second-largest exporter to Iran in 2024.
Together, these three countries account for 62.9% of EU–Iran trade, slightly below two-thirds. France and Spain recorded less than €250mn each.
Main products traded between the EU and Iran
EU exports are dominated by machinery and transport equipment, according to the European Commission. In 2024, exports in this category reached €1.28bn, making up 34% of total EU exports to Iran.
Chemicals and related products were another major group, with exports of about €1.13bn, accounting for roughly 31%.
EU imports from Iran are more concentrated in a few categories. Food and live animals account for the largest share, at around €305mn, or 37% of imports.
They are followed by chemicals and related products at about €188mn(23%), and manufactured goods classified by material at roughly €180mn(22%). Crude materials, excluding fuels, make up a smaller share at around €89mn(11%).
