Soon after presenting his credentials to the German president, the new U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, told German companies to start leaving Iran.
"As Donald Trump said, U.S. sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran's economy. German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately," Grenell tweeted Tuesday.
His tweet came as U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is pulling the United States out of the nuclear deal with Iran and reimposing sanctions.
Businesses continuing to work with Iran could be subject to U.S. penalties.
Germany is one of the signatories, and Chancellor Angela Merkel believes the U.S. should have remained in the deal.