French carmaker Renault intends to maintain a presence in Iran but may have to greatly downsize its operations to avoid the risk of penalties for breaching renewed US sanctions, its CEO Carlos Ghosn said on June 16 at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Paris, AFP reported.

"We will not abandon it [the Iranian market], even if we have to downsize very strongly," he reportedly said.

The stance of Renault in the face of the US sanctions to be imposed following the Trump administration’s unilateral early May exit from the multilateral nuclear deal, contrasts with that of the PSA Group—the maker of Peugeot and Citroen cars, as well as up-market DS vehicles—which in early June said it was preparing to suspend its joint venture activities in the Islamic Republic.

In the previous era of heavy sanctions prior to the introduction of the nuclear deal in January 2016, Renault muted its relationship with Iran but did not entirely pull out of the country. That move served it well as Iranians maintained trust in its brands. However, the Peugeot and Citroen brands took a massive hit when PSA Peugeot Citroen (as the group was then named) completely withdrew from Iran.

"When the market reopens, the fact of having stayed will certainly give us an advantage," Ghosn also told the gathered shareholders. He added: "We have a future in Iran."

Ghosn went on: "However, we are not going to do so [stay in Iran] to the detriment of Renault's interests—we will be watching closely to make sure our presence in Iran does not provoke direct or indirect reprisal measures on the part of American authorities."

Ghosn said a Renault team working on the issue was "in direct contact with the American administration to work out what can be done and what cannot be done".

IKCO, PSA’s biggest partner in Iran, which produces a range of outmoded vehicles including the 30-year-old Peugeot 405, is the Iranian automaker likely to suffer the most from the group’s unhappy goodbye. Likewise, SAIPA Group, which signed a deal with Citroen only recently, is set to take a heavy blow. It has sold a great deal of Citroen C3 models in the country which it is yet to deliver. It remains to be seen whether the buyers will ever see their vehicles or will have to settle for a refund.