BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union, France, Germany and Britain said in a joint statement that they regretted the United States’ decision to impose new sanctions against Iran and would seek to protect European companies doing legitimate business with Tehran.

In a statement issued on Friday and reissued on Monday, they said: “Our aim is to protect European economic actors who have legitimate commercial exchanges with Iran, in line with European legislation and the United Nations’ Security Council resolution 2231.”