**Russia says no case for UN action against Tehran

Reuters, Paris

France will start offering euro-denominated credits to Iranian buyers of its goods later this year, a move to bolster trade while keeping it outside the reach of US sanctions, the head of state-owned investment bank Bpifrance said.

France and other European countries have been looking to increase trade with

Iran since Paris, Washington and other world powers agreed in 2015 to lift many economic sanctions in exchange for controls on Iran's nuclear programme.

The plan is to offer dedicated, euro-denominated export guarantees to Iranian buyers of French goods and services. By structuring the financing through vehicles without any US link, whether to the currency or otherwise, the aim is to avoid the extraterritorial reach of US legislation.

The move could anger US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull out of the Iran nuclear agreement reached by his prede-cessor Barack Obama. Washington has maintained some financial restrictions, leaving private banks - even those based outside the United States - wary of financing deals.

There is a pipeline of about 1.5 billion euros in potential contracts from interested French exporters, Dufourcq told lawmakers on Wednesday.

France, which has had close business ties

with Iran since before the fall of the Shah in 1979 and still operates several large factories there including Renault and PSA plants, is not alone in Europe in seeking to deepen trade ties.

A French banking source

said Italy, Germany, Austria and Belgium were also working on mechanisms that would shield their companies from the risk of US sanctions.

Meanwhile, Russia's UN ambassador on Wednesday said Russia does not believe there is a case for United Nations action against Iran over Tehran's alleged involvement in Yemen war.