European Firms to Boost Investments in Iran
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Majlis Vice Speaker Ali Motahhari Germany, France, Britain, Russia, Says Government Is Satisfied And China Will Reportedly Meet With the Recent Talks With Its In the Austrian Capital Next Week European Partners Over To Discuss Ways to Save the Preserving the JCPOA and JCPOA and the Meeting Will Be Securing Iran’s Interests Led by Helga Schmid VOL. XXIV, No. 6404 TEHRAN Price 10,000 Rials www.irannewsdaily.com MONDAY, MAY 21, 2018 - ORDIBEHESHT 31, 1397 5 2 DOMESTIC 3 DOMESTIC GENERAL 8 SPORTS Leader Donates Japan Wins Conte Hits Back $95K to Release U.S. Fails in By Beating Mourinho Needy Prisoners Isolating Iran Cannes Top Prize To FA Cup > SEE PAGE 2 > SEE PAGE 3 > SEE PAGE 5 > SEE PAGE 8 Officials European Firms to Boost Indonesia Still in Divided Talks Over Oil Field On FATF Investments in Iran Deal in Iran TEHRAN (MNA) – Iranian Foreign Ministry spoke in JAKARTA (Dispatches) - A deal between favor of Iran’s accession to the International Convention state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism, while and its Iranian partner to develop the latter’s oil National Security Council was against the idea, an MP field will continue despite the United States’ recent said yesterday. call for a tighter agreement on Iran’s nuclear The bill of “Accession of the Government of the program, the Energy and Mineral Resources Islamic Republic of Iran to the International Convention Ministry has announced. for the Suppression of Financing of Terrorism”, which The Iranian government has given Pertamina an early was proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and May deadline to seal a deal for developing Iran’s approved by the Cabinet in Oct. 2017, was presented to Mansouri oil field, in which the company is expected to the Parliament today to take its relevant legislative control an 80 percent stake. The rest will be owned by procedures. The closed session was attended by Foreign an Iranian partner. Minister Zarif, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, The deal has not been cancelled because the Minister of Economy Masoud Karbasian, and a number Indonesian government is still in talks about the matter of other deputies at the two ministries. with relevant stakeholders, the Energy and Mineral The parliament has been reviewing three FATF-related Resources Ministry’s oil and gas director general, Ego bills, including the bill on amendment to the Anti-Money Syahrial, said on Friday. Laundering Law, the bill on amendment to the Law of “We have yet to decide whether to go on Combating the Financing of Terrorism, and the bill of [with the project] or stop at this point. So far, it is “Accession of the Government of the Islamic Republic of still going on,” he said in Jakarta, echoing a recent Iran to the International Convention for the Suppression statement made by Energy and Mineral Resources of Financing of Terrorism. See Page 7 Deputy Minister Arcandra Tahar revealing that the government was still calculating the impact of the US’ decision on Iran. Pertamina upstream director Syamsu Alam said the EU Could Compensate company was still communicating with its Iranian IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK counterpart, the government-owned National Iranian Oil Company, while waiting for updates on related political issues. Firms Hit by U.S. TEHRAN - Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardekanian said that a conference on investments by European small Pertamina is estimated to spend around US$6 billion and medium-sized firms in Iran would be held in autumn this year as the first step towards developing Iran- to develop the field over a 20-year period. Sanctions Over Iran Europe trade ties. Withdrawing from a 2015 nuclear accord earlier Speaking at a press conference with visiting EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias this month, US President Donald Trump called for a PARIS (Dispatches) - France is looking to see if the Canete, Ardekanian told reporters that the conference to be held in Tehran would provide an opportunity for Iran new agreement with deeper restrictions on Iran’s European Union could compensate European companies and EU Member States to prepare the grounds for expansion of cooperation and attraction of foreign investments. nuclear program. that might be facing sanctions from the United States Through negotiations held between Iran and EU, both sides can prepare a plan of action in order to prevent any for doing business with Iran, said French finance halt in their cooperation and pave the way for investments by small and medium-sized enterprises, he said . minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday. The Iranian minister also quoted the EU energy commissioner as saying that leaders of the EU Member States Le Maire referred to EU rules going back to 1996 that he in their recent summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, decided unanimously to fulfill their obligations towards Iran. said could allow the EU to intervene in this manner to protect In the Sofia summit, the participants reached a joint decision to cover investments by European small and Turkey Sees No Reason European companies against any U.S. sanctions, adding that medium-sized firms in Iran through Europe Investment Bank, he said. France wanted the EU to toughen its stance in this area. In For his part, the European climate action and energy commissioner said that given the U.S. exit from the Iran 1996, when the United States tried to penalize foreign nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the European Commission has set up companies trading with Cuba, the EU forced Washington to a committee to lift obstacles in the way of investments in Iran. For U.S. Withdrawal back down by threatening retaliatory sanctions. In response to a question on how Europe want to transfer Iran’s foreign exchange incomes from oil exports, European firms doing business in Iran face sanctions Canete said with regards to the enforcement of US sanctions, Europe would try to lift the obstacles. from the United States after President Donald Trump He said the aim of the visit to Tehran of the EC delegation is to neutralize as much as possible the impacts of From JCPOA withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. “Are we sanctions on transfer of hard currency to Iran. TEHRAN (Trend) - Turkey doesn’t see any reason why going to allow the United States to be the economic He said the EC efforts are not limited to the money transfer alone but rather it will try to convince the European the US has withdrawn from the Joint Comprehensive policeman of the world? The answer is no,” Le Maire told companies to implements various projects in Iran. Plan of Action (JCPOA), since Iran was standing by its C News TV and Europe 1 radio on Sunday. Le Maire added commitments in the agreement, contributing to it was important Italy kept its EU budget commitments, in international peace and security, ambassador of Turkey light of plans by Italy’s new coalition government to ramp to Iran Reza Hakan Tekin said. up spending - which could put Rome at odds with the EU. “We were disappointed with the US decision to withdraw from the JCPOA. We work to U.S. Sanctions on Iran Threaten Vital Afghanistan Trade Project support the regional stability, together with Azerbaijan and Iran and we would like to see the U.S. Exit From Iran WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord and full implementation of the international re-impose sanctions on Tehran threatens to derail a project to help build Afghanistan’s economy, endangering a agreements. Iran’s position on the agreement was key goal of the U.S. strategy to end America’s longest war. also supported by the International Energy Deal to Affect The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor Agency and many other countries and for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its organizations,” said the ambassador. dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbor. He added that the countries of the region and beyond Building Afghanistan’s economy would also slash Kabul’s dependence on foreign aid and put a major dent in it must cooperate to gain strengthen their development S. Korean Economy the illicit opium trade, the Taliban’s main revenue source. and achieve peace and stability. SEOUL (Dispatches) - South Korea held a meeting on But Trump’s decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran and penalize financial institutions for doing business with Tehran “We hope to continue the work on building a Friday to discuss on reducing the impact of the United is clouding Chabahar’s viability as banks, nervous they could be hit with crippling penalties, pull back from financing. better world for our peoples. Iran, Azerbaijan and States’ decision to exit the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran “President Trump’s decision has brought us back to the drawing board and we will have to renegotiate terms Turkey will continue to expand trilateral on local economic affairs. and conditions on using Chabahar,” a senior Indian diplomat said. “It is a route that can change the way India- cooperation, supporting regional security and As reported by the Yonhap news agency on Saturday, Iran-Afghanistan do business, but for now everything is in a state of uncertainty.” prosperity, increasing benefits for all the three a session was hosted Deputy Foreign Minister for The White House did not respond to requests for comment. countries,” Hakan Tekin said. economic affairs Yun Kang-Hyeon where they discussed Launched in 2016, the joint Iran-India-Afghanistan Chabahar project already was facing holdups.