US Blocking Iran-Iraqi Oil Sector Cooperation [Excerpt]
July 03, 2004
Dow Jones Newswires
Hashem Kalantari
TEHRAN -- Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said Saturday that although Iran can contribute substantially to developing Iraq's oil industry - the U.S. is blocking such help on political grounds.
"We can do much for Iraq, but the Americans have not so far opened the way for the two countries' exchange and cooperation in the oil sector," said Zangeneh in a press briefing at the Oil Ministry's headquarters in Tehran.
At the international donors conference on Iraq in Madrid last year, Iran offered to contribute to the reconstruction of its war-torn neighbor if Washington did not stand in the way.
An initial arrangement foresaw the transfer of 350,000 barrels per day of Iraqi light crude to Abadan refinery in southwest Iran near the Iraqi border. Then, an equivalent amount of light crude would be sold on behalf of Iraq.
So far, the two countries' oil industry exchanges have been limited the export of a limited amount of Iranian oil products to its neighbor to alleviate shortages.
According to an Iranian oil industry official, Iran currently has the capability for refining 180,000 b/d of Iraqi crude. That capacity can be raised to 320,000 b/d with minor adjustment at very low cost.
The U.S. has reservations about the involvement of the Iranian government in Iraq, fearing it might incite further insurgency in Iraq - particularly among the Shiite majority.
http://www.wsj.com/public/us
Iran News
Syrian President Due in Iran
Jul 3, 2004, 21:51
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, heading a high-ranking political delegation is scheduled to arrive here on Sunday, it was announced Saturday.
Upon his arrival, which follows an invitation by his Iranian counterpart, Assad will be received at Mehrabad International Airport by Minister of Housing and Urban Development Ali Abdol-Alizadeh. The Syrian president and his entourage will be officially greeted by President Mohammad Khatami at Sa'dabad Cultural Complex.
During his two-day stay in Tehran, Assad is to hold talks with senior Iranian officials on bilateral relations, regional issues and the issue of Palestine. The Syrian president paid a short visit to Tehran in February 2003 before the U.S.-led war against Iraq. In his tour of Arab countries in May 2003, Mohammad Khatami also visited Syria.
http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/printer_2818.shtml