The French-owned CMA CGM, the worlds third largest shipping container group, announced on Saturday that it was quitting Iran over the looming threat of US sanctions. "Because of the Trump administration, we have decided to end our service to Iran," its chief executive Rodolphe Saade told an economic conference in Aix-en-Provence in southern France. "Our Chinese competitors are hesitating a bit, so they may have different relationships with the Trump administration." In 2016 the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran Shipping Lines allowing it to lease spaces for vessels, operate joint shipping lines and cooperate on the use of port terminals. CMA CGM’s announcement deals a blow to Tehran’s efforts to persuade European countries to keep their companies operating in Iran despite the threat of new American sanctions. The shipping market leader, A.P. Moller-Maersk of Denmark, already announced in May it was pulling out of Iran. In June, French carmaker PSA Group suspended its joint venture activities in Iran, and French oil major Total said it held little hope of receiving a US waiver to continue with a multibillion-dollar gas project in the country. Total’s CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Saturday the company had been left with little choice. “If we continued to work in Iran, Total would not be able to access the US financial world,” he told RTL radio. “Our duty is to protect the company. So we have to leave Iran.” US President Donald Trump announced in early May the unilateral withdrawal of the US from the Iran nuclear deal and the reinstatement of sanctions against the country, as well as against foreign companies who do business with it. Washington said the sanctions would be immediate for new contracts and gave companies already working there up to 180 days to cease trading.