Italy's large companies ditched Iran "immediately" after the United States reimposed sanctions last year, while small-to-medium-sized firms still want to do business with the Islamic Republic, its ambassador, Hamid Bayat, said on Friday.
"Big Italian companies immediately abandoned Iran but small-to-medium-sized ones, which have always worked well with our country, want to keep to doing so," Bayat told reporters and Italian analysts at an encounter in Rome.
"But they need instruments to be able to operate in the Iranian market, above all banking ones," Bayat underlined.
He said Iran had "repeatedly proposed" to Italy's authorities - at the request of Italian business people - to use small local banks which are better able to guarantee credit lines enabling Italian companies to work with Iran.
US President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions after withdrawing from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers that lifted sanctions in return for Tehran curbing its sensitive nuclear work.
By slapping fresh sanctions, the Trump administration is exerting "maximum pressure" on Iran aiming at cutting the country's oil sales to zero, to force it to negotiate a broader deal that would cover its missile capabilities and regional influence.
