Tehran (ISNA) – The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and Export Insurance Agency of Russia (EXIAR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to finance joint projects between the two countries.
In a meeting with EXIAR’s CEO Alexey Tyupanov, CBI's vice-governor for foreign exchange affairs, Ahmad Araghchi, called for expediting the process of financing joint projects between Iran and Russia, and expressed satisfaction with the positive conclusion of talks on finance agreements.
EXIAR’s CEO Alexey Tyupanov, for his part, expressed hope that various projects of Iran’s private and public sectors would soon be able to be financed by Russian banks, leading to further expansion of economic ties between the two countries.
During the meeting, the two sides reached an agreement on the general outlines of the conditions for finance, under which Iranian banks can receive financing from Russian banks for projects that have obtained domestic licenses. The finance to be received from Russian banks will be used in both private and public sectors and in various industries whose projects have been prioritized by relevant executive bodies.
Following the signing of this MoU, the general financing agreement will soon be signed and implemented between Russian and Iranian banks.
End Item
Tehran (ISNA) - France says it remains determined to expand economic bonds with Iran even in the face of recent US threats against a landmark deal that helped resolve disputes over the country’s nuclear energy program in 2015.
Iran’s media quoted Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, as telling his Iranian counterpart Masoud Karbasian in New York that Paris still considered the nuclear deal – which led to the removal of sanctions against Iran in early 2016 – as “an important accord”.
Le Maire emphasized that France would remain committed to the deal and would accordingly spare no effort in expanding economic relations with the Islamic Republic.
The remarks by the French minister followed a decision on Friday by US President Donald Trump to decertify Iran nuclear deal.
Trump’s announcement drew immediate reactions from the international community with America’s European partners – including France – insisting that they would struggle to keep the deal alive despite Washington’s threats to kill it.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Le Maire praised Iran’s efforts to promote its financial transparency, adding the country had also implemented an efficient mechanism to bring its banking activities under a close scrutiny.
The French minister nevertheless said Tehran still needed to implement wider international standards in its financial structure.
The move, Le Maire said, was necessary for the further expansion of the Islamic Republic’s global monetary interactions. He added that Paris was ready to help Iran in that connection.
Karbasian, who was meeting the French minister on the sidelines of a World Bank meeting, said Iran was ready to promote relations with France in all areas.
He added that one important area of cooperation between the two countries was providing financial facilities by French banks to Iranian industries to press ahead with their projects.
End Item
Tehran (ISNA) - The author of organizational training management book said universities and academic spheres can earn money via solutions such as organizational reputation, credit of scientific figures, and providing consulting services.
Noting that knowledge-based tendencies in global economy have greatly affected the academic environment, Secretary of Iran Urban Economics Scientific Association (IUESA) Dr. Seyyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mozdabadi said, “The global economy has grown to the point that the commercialization of academic capital has created an undeniable necessity in the development of societies”.
Touching upon statistics, he added, “Globally, one out of 11 employed people, directly or indirectly, operates in the knowledge-based economy, and half of the OECD’s GDP is also derived from a knowledge-based economy”.
Mentioning that knowledge-based economy has led to the development of scientific education approaches, he further said, “Universities, as well as private companies, are struggling to gain competitive advantage and strengthen resources in international markets”.
“The reduction of budgets allocated to universities and departments has led scientific collections to seek to commercialize their products,” the lecturer of Kharazmi University added.
Stating that the academic atmosphere in Iran has also taken steps to commercialize its products, which is inadequate, he added, “One of the less-regarded issues is the idea of an entrepreneurial university”.
“Entrepreneurial university is one that combines the missions related to the development in economic, social, cultural and other aspects with university research and educational missions, and in practice, it creates a reasonable and strong relationship between the scientific spaces and researchers,” he further explained.
“In our opinion, the university is an entrepreneur that has put all its efforts in the commercialization of scientific products and created a platform and a supportive environment for the development of entrepreneurial activities,” the vice-president of IUESA said.
“Universities and scientific spaces can earn money through solutions such as organizational reputation, credit of scientific figures, and providing consulting services,” he further said.
Referring to the research regarding entrepreneurship at European universities, especially Sweden and Ireland, he said, “The research offers eight specific models of entrepreneurship, such as contract research, large-scale scientific projects, patents and licensing, branching, counseling, out-of-university education, sales of products, preparation of measuring equipment, and calibration”.
End Item
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Austrian industrialist underlined that his country will continue its interactions with Iran in in economic and industrial fields.
"Cooperation with Iran will never stop and that my company is expected to start major joint projects in the country in the near future," Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Austria's WABAG Company Reinhard Nowotny said.
Nowotny has traveled to Tehran to take part in the 13th International Exhibition of Water Industry and Water and Wastewater Installations.
He reiterated that the removal of sanctions against Tehran has eased cooperation between the two countries.
"As to US President Donald Trump's recent statements on Iran nuclear deal, the reaction by the White House to the 2015 deal is illogical," Nowotny said.
He reiterated that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an international agreement which has been accepted by Washington, and said, "The United States cannot change its stance regarding the accord."
"We will continue our engagement with Iran," the Austrian CEO said.
The 13th Water Industry Exhibition attended by 258 Iranian and 105 foreign companies ended late on Thursday.
European firms, including those from France and Germany, during the four-day exhibition, signed cooperation memoranda of understanding in a bid to expand their engagement in Iran water industry.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari and Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci in a meeting in Ankara voiced their countries' preparedness to further expand bilateral relations, specially in the technical and engineering fields.
During the meeting in the Turkish capital on Thursday, Shariatmadari and Zeybekci explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating of mutual cooperation in the technical and engineering areas.
During their meeting, the two ministers, who also serve as special representatives of the presidents and chairmen of the economic commission in their own countries, discussed promotion of economic and trade collaboration in a bid to achieve the 30-billion-dollar goal set for the volume of trade exchanges between the two neighboring nations.
"Turkey has achieved good successes, specially in the field of offering engineering and technical services," the Iranian minister said, contending that the two countries' collaboration in the field of technical and engineering services will help Iran promote to higher levels, as it has undertaken significant projects in these fields.
Zeybekci, for his part, said that Ankara is looking for assessing the business opportunities in Iran and Turkey and promoting joint projects.
In a relevant development in early October, high-ranking Iranian and Turkish officials in a meeting in Tehran signed four cooperation agreements.
The documents and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) which were endorsed in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are related to the two countries' customs and banking ties as well as cooperation between their national libraries and state TV and radio organizations.
After the meeting, President Rouhani underlined that the banking ties between the two countries will further expand and they will increase trade relations using their own national currencies.
In relevant remarks in July, Iranian Communications and Information Technology Minister Mahmoud Vaezi announced that Tehran and Ankara are mulling to establish free trade relations after their agreement on preferential trade agreement in the near future.
"Iran and Turkey have agreed to do their best to convert the preferential agreement which is already in place between the two countries to a free trade agreement," Vaezi said in a meeting with Turkish economy minister in Tehran.
He pointed to the recent meetings between the Iranian and Turkish presidents, and said, "President Hassan Rouhani and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had emphasized to boot the value of the two countries' trade balance to the ceiling of $30 billion."
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian and Turkish officials in a meeting in Ankara underlined the need to broaden mutual cooperation in different fields.
A high-ranking Iranian delegation to Turkey, led by the country's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, held a joint session with a Turkish delegation in the Turkish capital on Thursday.
Speaking at the meeting, Jahangiri referred to a recent visit of the Turkish president to Tehran and urged both sides remove all barriers to implementation of reached agreements and elevation of bilateral cooperation.
He said banking, customs and energy sectors were appropriate venues for development of relations and voiced Iran’s readiness to launch further collaboration with Turkey over bilateral, regional and international issues.
Iran’s VP also stressed the need to establish security and fight against terrorist groups inside the region reiterating that all parties could benefit from security cooperation with Iraq.
Underscoring that the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan had been initiated by the Zionist regime and the US, the official stated that separation of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) could be detrimental to its people.
He also called for more serious steps to tackle plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar saying “efforts should be made to save the oppressed Muslims in the Southeast Asian nation.
At another part of his remarks, Jahangiri maintained that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was an international deal and no country could leave it individually; “all countries need to make efforts so that the US sticks to the agreement.”
The Iranian VP later underlined that Tehran and Ankara had to spare no effort to realize the 30-billion-dollar figure of trade turnover between the two countries.
In a relevant development on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım confirmed the need to obtain the envisaged figure for trade transactions and called for an early meeting of the Joint Economic Commission in a bid to eliminate existing obstacles.
He also called for using national currencies of the two countries in bilateral trades adding “expansion of transportation as well as banking and custom ties could lead to stronger relations.”
Yıldırım said Tehran and Ankara could have closer cooperation over security issues and in the fight against terrorism, especially in Syria and Iraq.
The official voiced satisfaction towards trilateral cooperation of Iran, Turkey and Iraq towards the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan and emphasized that regional issues were of great importance and, as such, required joint efforts.
The two sides at the session also underscored the need to pave the path for boosting tourism in both Iran and Turkey.
Economy
Iran, Norway Ink 2bln Euro Worth Energy Deal
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian and Norwegian firms signed a contract worth 2bln euro to produce 2gw of solar energy in Iran.
The deal was signed between Norway’s Saga Energy and Iran’s state-owned Amin Energy Developers at the Norwegian embassy in Tehran on Tuesday to install solar panels in multiple sites around the Central desert region of the country to produce two gigawatts of power.
The new solar project is being financed by a consortium of European private and state investors, and backed by a sovereign guarantee from the government of Iran.
"We hope to build a factory in Iran to build the panels so that we also generate jobs," said Saga's development manager Gaute Steinkopf at signing the deal.
The deal was signed just days after US President Donald Trump gave a bellicose speech, imposing further sanctions on Iran and calling for European allies to curb their financial dealings with the country.
But Norwegian Ambassador to Tehran Lars Nordrum underlined that his country "is fully committed to the JCPOA (nuclear deal) and this is proof that we have taken the opening very seriously, and we will see more investment very soon".
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian and his Brazilian counterpart Henrique Meirelles in a meeting in Brasilia underlined the need for broadening mutual cooperation, specially in economic and banking affairs.
During the meeting in the Brazilian capital on Tuesday, Karbasian and Meirelles explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating of bilateral relations, between the two countries' banks in particular.
"We welcome Iranian banks to open their branches in Brazil," Meirelles said.
The French finance minister reiterated that Iran-Brazil economic relations have shown satisfactory results.
He underlined investment in Agriculture, specially medium-sized and heavy weight industries, and said, "Brazil welcomes talks between certain major Brazilian companies and their Iranian partners, specially in energy generation."
Meirelles also voiced interest in meeting Iranian aviation fleet needs and said that the hurdles will be hopefully removed.
The two sides agreed on holding Iran-Brazil joint economic cooperation commission session in Iran by next two to three months.
In relevant remarks in November 2016, former Iranian Economy Minister Ali Tayyebnia and Brazilian Minister of Industry and Commerce Marcos Pereira in a meeting in Brasilia underlined the need for broadening of mutual cooperation in different fields, specially economic and trade areas.
During the meeting in the Brazilian capital, Tayyebnia and Pereira explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating bilateral economic ties.
"Tehran attaches importance to expansion of commercial cooperation with the South American countries mainly in the fields of agriculture and industries," the Iranian economy minister said.
He underlined that Brazil enjoys high potentials in agriculture and animal products.
"Iran has various potentials in exports of gas, oil derivatives, petrochemicals and handicrafts which can help enhance level of economic cooperation between the two countries," Tayyebnia added.
The Brazilian minister, for his part, expressed the hope to witness a growth in the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries.
He also hoped that several memoranda of understanding (MoU) on expansion of economic cooperation between Iran and Brazil would be inked in the future.
In October 2016, Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said Iran is interested to develop its relations with Brazil and is also ready for cooperation with the Latin American country in various fields of energy, including LNG and deepwater drilling.
“Both countries are oil-rich and Brazil has valuable experience in deep-water oil production,” he said at a meeting with the visiting Brazilian Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade Armando Monteiro.
“Iran needs Brazil’s experience in deep water drilling in order to use them for producing oil in the Caspian Sea,” the Iranian minister added.
TEHRAN (FNA)- A Norwegian solar company signed a 4-billion-dollar investment deal with Iran just days after US President Donald Trump called for isolating Tehran.
"Norway is fully committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and this is proof that we have taken the opening very seriously, and we will see more investment very soon," Norwegian Ambassador to Tehran Lars Nordrum said in a signing ceremony of a deal between Norway's Saga Energy and Iran's Amin Energy Developers aimed at the installation of two gigawatts of solar panels in various locations in the country’s deserts.
The project is being financed by a consortium of European private and state investors.
"We hope to build a factory in Iran to build the panels so that we are also generating jobs," said Saga's development manager Gaute Steinkopf.
The joint measures come just days after Trump refused to formally certify that Iran was complying with the 2015 nuclear deal and warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
While Trump did not pull Washington out of the JCPOA, he gave the US Congress 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions against Tehran that were lifted under the pact. Reimposing sanctions would put the US at odds with other signatories to the accord and the European Union.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that Washington’s traditional allies are siding with Tehran over the nuclear deal.
On Monday, European Union foreign ministers reaffirmed their support for the historic nuclear agreement, saying the accord is working and is a key part of non-proliferation efforts.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian and Belarus officials in a meeting in Minsk on Tuesday underlined the need for expanding bilateral ties in different fields, specially trade and economy.
During the meeting in Belarus capital on Tuesday, Iranian Ambassador to Minks Mostafa Oveysi and Speaker of the Council of Republic of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich explored avenues for bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation.
The two sides discussed different topic, including trade and economy as well as political questions and exchange of visits between the two countries' senior officials.
The two sides also reviewed the outcomes of the recent talks on agriculture, health, medical equipment and fisheries held between economic delegations of the two countries.
The Belarusian official, meantime, stressed the importance of the implementation of the development plans between Minsk and Tehran.
In relevant remarks in early February, Myasnikovich in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran voiced his country's willingness to expand trade and economic relations with Iran.
"Belarus attaches special importance to expansion of relations with Iran and we have many plans to boost cooperation in many areas," Myasnikovich said during the meeting.
The Belarus speaker said that many companies from Belarus are active in Iran and many Iranian companies in Belarus.
"Belarus companies are interested in further expansion of economic relations between Tehran and Minsk and support growing activity of Iranian companies in Belarus," he added.
Zarif, for his part, said that with the removal of sanctions imposed against Iran there will be no problem at work for development of Iran-Belarus economic and banking cooperation.
By editor on in Politics, Security
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior member of Iran’s Expediency Council, rejected the notion that the Islamic Republic helped the central government in neighboring Iraq to take full control over the disputed region of Kirkuk, which was previously held by Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
“Iran has no role in the Kirkuk operation,” Velayati told reporters on the sidelines of his meeting with Special Envoy of France to Syria Franck Gellet in Tehran on Tuesday.
He further pointed to the independence referendum recently held in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region and said the majority of Iraq’s Kurdish people are opposed to the ambitions of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani.
“We saw that the region (Kirkuk) was captured by the Baghdad government almost without any clashes,” said Velayati, who is also an international adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
Iraqi forces completed an operation to take control of all oil fields operated by state-owned North Oil Company in the Kirkuk region on Tuesday, according to a senior military officer.
They took control of the Bai Hasan and Avana oil fields northwest of Kirkuk on Tuesday, after seizing the Baba Gurgur, Jambur and Khabbaz fields on Monday, he said, Reuters reported.
Oil officials in Baghdad said all the fields were operating normally.
The fields were previously held by Kurdish Peshmerga forces, but they pulled out of the area in the face of an advance by forces of the Iraqi central government.
Tuesday’s deployment of Iraqi government forces in Dibis, where Bai Hasan and Avana are located, is part of an operation ordered by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to take control of Kurdish-held areas outside the three provinces that form Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
The latest incidents come amid simmering tensions between the central government in Baghdad and the KRG over a recent controversial referendum on the secession of the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdish region.
The plebiscite took place on September 25, sparking strong objection from Baghdad. Iraq’s neighbors and the international community also voiced concerns about the repercussions of the vote, which was only supported by Israel.
Kirkuk, with some 10 percent of Iraq’s oil reserves, has long been contested by Baghdad and Erbil.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
By editor on in Finance, Industry, Investment
Dentons Europe LLP has advised Quercus, one of the world’s largest renewable energy investors, on a deal worth more than €500 million with Iran’s Ministry of Energy for the development, construction and operation of a 600 MW solar energy photovoltaic (PV) plant in Iran.
This is Quercus’ first investment outside of Europe and represents the largest single investment in the renewable energy sector in Iran since the lifting of international sanctions.
Construction of the plant is set to commence in 2018 and will take three years to complete, with 100 MW becoming operational every six months. Once complete, it will have a total capacity of 600 MW, making it one of the largest in the world.
Quercus is a renewable energy investment company, which has built a 40-plant portfolio in the UK, Italy and overseas. Following significant demand from existing and potential investors, Quercus is now venturing into the Iranian market, as the country gears up to install 5GW of renewable energy capacity by 2020. Quercus will create a new, specialist team for the delivery of this project.
Dentons Europe LLP advised Quercus on all aspects of the deal and represented the client in negotiations with the Ministry.
The team was led by partner Ramin Hariri, with support from partner Vincent Lacombe, who advised on restructuring and tax issues. Partner Navid Sato, counsel Maryam Ebrahimi, and associates Nima Nasrollahi, Sara Habibi and Arash Shahrokhy from APP Legal Institute, the law firm associated with Dentons in Iran, also worked on the deal.
In the past two months, the Iran Team at Dentons Europe has closed deals in Iran with a combined value of more than €7 billion in the oil and gas, renewable energy, railway and automotive sectors.
(Source: Dentons)
Iran “Playing No Role in Iraq’s Kirkuk Operation”
Tags: Dentons, DJ, featured, Quercus, renewable energy, solar energy, United Kingdom
By editor on in Communication, Politics, Security
By John Lee.
Iran’s oldest social media network is to close following years of conflict with censors.
According to a report from AFP, company director Mohammad Javad Shakouri Moghadam said Cloob.com was entirely blocked three times and the last time it took 28 days to unblock it; he said the actions allowed foreign sites such as Instagram to take over.
Cloob website was launched 12 years ago as the Iranian answer to Facebook and Google’s now-dead Orkut, and at its peak had some two million users in the country.
(Source: AFP)
Iranian Official Urges Enhanced Economic Ties with Iraq
Dentons advises Quercus on €500m Solar Energy Deal
Tags: censorship, Cloob, Facebook, featured, Google, human rights, Orkut, press freedom, social media
By editor on in Agriculture, Industry, Politics
Chairman of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce Yahya Ale-Ishaq has hailed the political ties between Tehran and Baghdad, saying the two sides’ economic ties should also be strengthened.
Speaking in a forum of Iranian and Iraqi traders, Al-e Eshaq said the economic relations between Tehran and Baghdad have not developed on par with the political and security ties.
The official called for removal of obstacles in the way of the two countries’ economic cooperation, especially in the fields of banking, transportation, and customs affairs.
He further noted that that Tehran and Baghdad eye boosting their annual trade exchange to $20 billion.
Iran and Iraq enjoy cordial political, security and cultural ties but due to some internal and regional problems including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) terrorism in Iraq, they have not been able to increase their trade volume.
Iran’s main exports to the neighboring country include agro products, foodstuff and fruits such as watermelon, tomato and cucumber, which account for 37% of the total exports.
Other Iranian exports to Iraq include canned food, tomato paste, chicken, egg, meat, construction materials (mainly rebar, tiles and ceramics), steel and evaporative cooler.
(Source: Tasnim, under Creative Commons licence)
By Bijan Khajehpour, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
Iran and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq have historically been on good terms. During the Saddam Hussein years, Iran was one of the main countries to host Kurdish leaders. In the post-Saddam era, Tehran and Erbil have enjoyed good neighborly relations.
This relationship manifested itself in Iranian forces coming to the rescue of the Kurdish regions in their fight against the Islamic State (IS) in the summer of 2014. However, the recent independence referendum in the KRG has angered Tehran, and it is clear that the Kurdish moves will impact on both bilateral ties and wider regional alignments.
One important aspect to consider when assessing the fallout between Iran and the KRG following the independence vote is the economic dimension of their relationship in the geostrategic context of Iranian concerns.
Iran and the KRG have a multilayered relationship; most importantly, it is not all driven by the government. On the one hand, there are various trade links between the two sides, starting from very active border markets up to cross-border trade and investment.
There are five border markets between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan. Prior to the recent events, there were plans to expand such entities to create jobs and also shift the unofficial trade toward official channels. In fact, the KRG is an important market for Iranian exporters. The trade volume between the two sides amounted to $8 billion in 2014, which made Iran the KRG’s second-largest trading partner, after Turkey.
In recent years, Iranian exports to the Kurdistan Region have dropped due to the conflict against IS. Yet, according to Kurdish sources, the trade volume between Iran and the KRG stood at $4 billion in 2016. This means that approximately 40% of the Iran-Iraq trade goes through the KRG.
By editor on in Oil & Gas, Politics, Security
Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said he believed it was unlikely that American President Donald Trump’s recent assertions on Iran’s nuclear program would impact the oil market.
Reacting to the US president’s recent remarks on Iran’s nuclear deal and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Mr. Zangeneh said:
“I see it unlikely that these remarks will have any determining impact on the price of oil.”
Speaking during a televised interview, the official said Trump’s statements were predictable to some extent, but “given the seriousness and determination we have witnessed in Europeans and Asians, we hope we will be able to continue on our agenda and, God willing, reach results.”
The US president has refused to certify the 2015 international nuclear agreement between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany and has warned he might ultimately terminate it, in defiance of other world powers and undermining a landmark victory of multilateral diplomacy, PressTV reported.
Trump said he would choose not to certify that Tehran is complying with the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump also said his goal is to ensure Iran would never obtain a nuclear weapon, adding, “We will not continue down a path whose predictable conclusion is more violence, more terror and the very real threat of Iran’s nuclear breakout.”
Pages: 1 2
No Change in IMF Policy on Iran
Assessing the Impact of Shifting Iran-KRG Relations
Tags: Donald Trump, featured, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), nuclear deal, sanctions, United Nations (UN), United States
By editor on in Finance, Politics
By John Lee.
The Managing Director of the International Monterey Fund (IMF) has said the IMF sees no reason to change its policy on granting loans to Iran, despite US pressures and bans.
Christine Lagarde (pictured) told a news conference on Sunday:
“You know, we operate with 189 members, and we only provide support and enter into program negotiations when a country asks for it. And we see no reason to change anything in the guidelines that we have received from the Board and to continue to operate in the same manner.”
(Sources: IMF, Tasnim)
European Powers Continue to Support Nuke Deal
Trump Remarks “Unlikely to Impact Oil Market”
Tags: Donald Trump, featured, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), sanctions, United States
By editor on in Politics, Security
Joint statement from Prime Minister Theresa May, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Emmanuel Macron following President Trump’s statement on the US’ Iran Strategy.
We, the Leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom take note of President Trump’s decision not to recertify Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to Congress and are concerned by the possible implications.
We stand committed to the JCPoA and its full implementation by all sides. Preserving the JCPoA is in our shared national security interest. The nuclear deal was the culmination of 13 years of diplomacy and was a major step towards ensuring that Iran’s nuclear programme is not diverted for military purposes.
The JCPoA was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2231. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPoA through its long-term verification and monitoring programme.
Therefore, we encourage the US Administration and Congress to consider the implications to the security of the US and its allies before taking any steps that might undermine the JCPoA, such as re-imposing sanctions on Iran lifted under the agreement.
At the same time as we work to preserve the JCPoA, we share concerns about Iran’s ballistic missile programme and regional activities that also affect our European security interests. We stand ready to take further appropriate measures to address these issues in close cooperation with the US and all relevant partners.
We look to Iran to engage in constructive dialogue to stop de-stabilising actions and work towards negotiated solutions.
Our governments are committed to ensuring the JCPoA is maintained. Independent of the JCPOA, we need to make sure that our collective wider concerns are being addressed.
We have asked our Foreign Ministers to consider with the US how to take these issues forward.
(Source: UK FCO)
Video: Trump’s Iran Speech raises Int’l Concern
No Change in IMF Policy on Iran
Tags: Donald Trump, featured, France, Germany, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), nuclear deal, sanctions, United Kingdom, United States
By editor on in Politics, Security
From Al Jazeera. Any opinions expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
Trump’s decision on the Iran nuclear deal is raising international concerns.
Many argue the US cannot unilaterally amend a security council resolution.
Iran has also sent a formal letter of protest to the UN secretary general.
Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna reports from the United Nations:
Trump Speech Sparks Outrage in Iran
European Powers Continue to Support Nuke Deal
Tags: Donald Trump, European Union (EU), featured, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), nuclear deal, sanctions, United Nations (UN), United States, video
From Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iran Business News.
In Iran, both government officials and regular citizens have reacted with anger to the Oct. 13 speech made by US President Donald Trump on his new Iran strategy.
Though Trump attempted to distinguish between the Iranian people and the Iranian state, his reference to the “Arabian Gulf” instead of the “Persian Gulf” caused widespread outrage among ordinary Iranians, with #NeverTrustUSA trending on Twitter.
The term Arabian Gulf was first used by pan-Arab movements in Iraq in the 1960s and then by nationalist Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in reaction to Tehran’s siding with Israel in its conflicts with Arab states.
Shortly after Trump’s speech, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave a televised address in which he slammed the US president, urging him to be ethical and polite.
Mentioning Trump’s use of the term Arabian Gulf, Rouhani said:
“I invite the US president to read more about history and geography. … How [has] a president not yet learned the name of a famous, historical and global gulf — the Persian Gulf, through which, unfortunately, American warships are constantly coming and going. He should have at least asked his military advisers how they write the name of this gulf on their maps.”
Noting Trump’s threats to kill the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iranian president said:
“As long as our rights are guaranteed, and as long as our interests require, and as long as we enjoy its benefits, we will respect the JCPOA within the framework of the interests of our nation … [Trump] says that, in cooperation with Congress, he will amend the JCPOA. [Seemingly], he doesn’t know that [it is not possible] to add any clause, article and paragraph to the JCPOA.”
Hinting at Europe’s opposition to Trump’s strategy toward Iran, Rouhani continued:
“The great people of Iran saw that for the first time the United States took a stand against a multilateral international commitment, and immediately, major countries of the world and the European Union took a stand against the United States. The US today is lonelier than ever on the JCPOA and its conspiracies against the Iranian nation.”
On Oct. 14, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined Rouhani in condemning Trump’s speech.
TEHRAN- In a move to increase bilateral trade, the central banks of Iran and Turkey signed a deal to trade in their local currencies.
The document was signed on Thursday by Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif and his Turkish counterpart Murat Çetinkaya during the trip of Iranian First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri to Turkey.
Under the deal, the Iranian rial and Turkish lira will be easily converted to help reduce the costs of currency conversion and transfer for traders. The countries had been using euros.
The deal allocates a credit line of 5 billion liras and its equal amount in Iranian rials. It would be used to facilitate the proceedings for the opening of letters of credit by merchants on both sides of the border.
“Trading with local currencies is the most significant step to improving economic ties. The central banks of both countries agreed on this issue and they will inform other banks about how the deal will be applied,” Reuters quoted Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim as saying in a joint news conference with Jahangiri.
“Trading in local currencies will be encouraged and this will contribute to making trading easier and increase the trade volume and diversity,” Yildirim added.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the deal was aimed at raising Turkish-Iranian trade volume to $30 billion from current $10 billion.
MA
TEHRAN- Development phases of Iran’s South Pars gas field (in the Persian Gulf) will be completed within one and half years, according to Mohammad Meshkinfam, the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), which is in charge of developing the field.
Meshkinfam said 85 percent of the phases are complete so far and implementation of the rest 15 percent will be finished by the next 1.5 years, Shana news agency reported.
South Pars, which Iran shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.
The field is divided into 24 standard phases of development in the first stage. Most of the phases are fully operational at the moment.
Completing development phases of South Pars is among the Oil Ministry’s priorities outlined by President Hassan Rouhani in a decree in mid September.
MA
