PM: International companies eye business in Iran

International energy companies are returning to Iran as the US-sponsored sanctions against the Islamic Republic have proved to be ineffective, member of the Iranian Parliament's Energy Commission Moayyed Hosseini Sadr said, Press TV reported with reference to IRNA.

"International oil companies left Iran shortly after the sanctions were imposed against the country, but once they realized the sanctions were sham and ineffective, they returned to Iran," Sadr told.

He made a reference to a 22-percent increase in foreign companies' participation in Iran's 16th International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition and noted that regarding the oil and gas sector Iran ranks second in the world and the country's political stability has provided a secure environment for foreign investment in oil industry.

The expo will be inaugurated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on April 15th and will be open to public from April 16 to April 19.

Some 927 Iranian companies and 460 foreign businesses will take part in the event.

In July 2010, the European Union's foreign ministers approved unilateral sanctions against Iran, which target investment and technical assistance to the country's refining, liquefaction and natural gas sectors.

The punitive measure goes beyond a fourth round of UN Security Council sanctions imposed on June 9, targeting Iran's oil and gas sectors.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.

Iranian officials refute such allegations and stress that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the country has a legitimate right to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.


/Trend/