UK investor halts Iran solar project over US sanctions

British group Quercus, an investor in renewable energy, said today it will halt work on a major solar plant in Iran after the country was hit by US economic sanctions.

"Following the US sanctions on Iran, we have decided to cease all activities in the country, including our 600 MW (megawatt) project," Quercus chief executive Diego Biasi said in comments later confirmed by a company spokesman.

The US last week reimposed sanctions on Iran after President Donald Trump's withdrawal from a nuclear accord in May.

Trump insisted that the 2015 deal with Iran -- designed to prevent the Islamic republic from developing a nuclear weapon and that was signed also by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough.

Several major foreign companies have either already exited Iran or are planning to cease activities in the country as a result of the US sanctions impacting their business activities.