Berlin - The German government wants to significantly toughen its sanctions against Iran by convincing banking, insurance and energy companies to break ties to that country, reports weekly magazine Der Spiegel.

The move would be part of Germany's continuing efforts to get Iran to stop its nuclear development programs.

According to the report, representatives from multiple ministries met Monday to co-ordinate a plan. The finance and economics ministries were tasked with opening talks with industry representatives to discuss sanctions.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry would not comment on the report Saturday.

According to the magazine, the German plans stem from a French proposal for like-minded countries to discourage business investment in Iran so long as neither the United Nations nor the European Union has a co-ordinated plan for increased sanctions on Iran.

The national trade bans are meant to focus on products made exclusively by participating countries, making it hard for Iran to find replacements from other countries not participating in the expanded sanctions. (dpa)