In other words, more than half of the previous amounts still come through. From March 20 to May 20, Iran imported more than 21,100 tons of car parts, says Bloomberg, citing Iranian newspaper reports based on customs data.

GM-partner PSA has repeatedly stated that shipments of parts to Iran’s carmaker IKCO (a.k.a. Iran Khodro) had stopped in February, and would not resume until September, if at all. The parts are for the 206 and 405 models, and PSA said it stopped shipping them in response to sanctions on Iran. IKCO says it’s not true at all, ships are unloading parts and the lines are running.

A report of just-auto says there are “deeply conflicting views as to whether or not PSA Peugeot Citroen has halted shipments.”

In a call to Teheran, just-auto was told that “there is not any problem in shipments of Peugeot product parts – shipments of Peugeot are continuing here.”

In a call to PSA HQ in Paris, just-auto was given a totally different story: “We have nothing to add to what we have already said – that is shipments are suspended – there is nothing more to say,” a PSA spokesman said.

Meanwhile in the U.S., lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), reports that “IKCO has not yet received any official announcement from Peugeot indicating a halt in their mutual cooperation.” A week ago,Mark D. Wallace, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. and CEO of UANI said in an op-ed piece that statements to the effect that Peugeot had stopped shipments of parts to Iran “simply do not jibe with reality,” and that “it is hard not to feel like GM and Peugeot are simply trying to make this controversy go away without making the responsible decision to truly end their business in Iran.”

Wallace and UANI called on Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to hold GM accountable for whom it partners with. Wallace wrote:

“In light of the taxpayer-funded $50 billion bailout of GM and the U.S. Treasury Department’s current 32 percent stake in GM, it is completely unacceptable for GM to be financially aligned with a company that is doing work with a regime responsible for the deaths of U.S. servicemen. The GM-Peugeot partnership seems to run afoul of U.S. sanctions, and it should be investigated.”

Sanctions imposed on Iran by the EU and the United States have compelled PSA to delay parts shipments to Iran Khodro until September at the earliest.

Iran Khodro needs parts to build cars like the 206 and the ancient (by modern standards) 405. The delays are expected to cost both parties about $10 million per month.

Speaking to Just-Auto, a PSA spokesperson said

“We have withheld shipments to Iran until July…It is for financing reasons because of the sanctions. I guess in May or June it will be reviewed. Most factories are closed in France in August, so if you start again it will be in September.”

Some have suggested that General Motors, which has entered into an alliance with PSA, has put pressure on the French firm to suspend or end its ties with the Iran Khodro, but GM steadfastly denies this.

Just-Auto also spoke to an Iran Khodro spokesman who was optimistic that the company could find replacement parts, and expressed hope that negotiations regarding Iran’s controversial nuclear program would go well, leading to a resumption of business as usual. PSA’s Iranian business interests are worth $1.57 billion, or 1.5 percent of PSA’s total revenue.

Even as the EU sanctions continue to add up, Iran’s national car maker is going in the opposite direction. Iran Khodro is set to launch a new engine family that will comply with the latest Euro-IV emissions regulations for use in their Peugeot-based models.

The new motors, dubbed the XUM series, can run on gasoline or natural gas, and will be installed in the IKCO Samand and the Iranian-built Peugeot 405.  The XUM engine is scheduled to go into mass production in June, but Peugeot parent company PSA has recently suspended parts shipments to IKCO, impeding production of vehicles like the 405. While Iranian business only accounts for 1.5 percent of PSA’s annual revenue, IKCO is highly dependent on Peugeot. The Samand is only sold in Belarus, Russia and Switzerland, which are non-EU countries. IKCO may be taking its environmental lead from the EU, but their wares aren’t going to be sold there anytime soon – or anywhere, if the sanctions are successful.