Iran needs $200-250 billion dollars in investments to bring stability to its oil and gas sectors, an official in the chamber of commerce said, reiterating previous comments by the oil minister.
Arash Najafi, head of the energy commission at Iran’s Chamber of Commerce told local media, "In recent years, due to sanctions, we have been deprived or had limited access to many of the world’s latest technologies. At present, we need modern technology, up-to-date equipment, and serious investment to tap into the country’s underground resources, increase gas reservoir pressure, and revive oil fields."
While Iran struggles to increase oil production, its gas output is steadily declining due to loss of pressure in its main South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf. Only multinational Western energy companies have the technology to install very large gas platforms to boost production.
"We need more than $200 to $250 billion in investment to bring the country’s oil and gas sector to a stable state. Investment is essential for energy transmission to refineries and petrochemical plants, as well as for infrastructure and related facilities,” Najafi added.
Iran's oil minister Javad Owji has also said in the past that Iran needs a minimum of $200 billion investment in its energy sector.
Tehran and Washington are currently negotiating over Iran’s nuclear program and other issues with the hope of reaching an agreement that can gradually reduce or eliminate tough US sanctions. Only then Iran can freely export oil and receive the proceeds through normal banking channels. Currently 95% of shipments go to China and it is not clear how much cash Tehran receives.
Najafi expressed hope that if relations improve with the US Iran can benefit in the energy sector. "The United States is currently a leader in the oil sector, and if we engage in economic cooperation with the US and establish an economic corridor between the two countries, we could benefit not only from its technologies but also from its investment to help develop our oil and gas fields.”
He added that Iran could also attract capital from multinational companies and move toward a stable position in the oil and gas sector.
The plan was presented by Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in writing to US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during the three-hour talks.
Tehran proposed that in the first stage, it would temporarily reduce its uranium enrichment level to 3.67% in exchange for access to financial assets frozen by the United States and permission to export its oil, the diplomatic sources told Iran International.
In the second phase, the sources added, Iran would permanently end high-level enrichment and restore the United Nations nuclear watchdog's inspections if the United States lifts further sanctions on Iran and persuades Britain, Germany and France to refrain from triggering the so-called snapback of UN sanctions on Tehran.
In this phase, Iran would also commit to implementing the Additional Protocol, a supplementary agreement that allows the UN nuclear watchdog to carry out surprise inspections at sites not declared to the agency.
Tehran ended that compliance in February 2021 after Trump in his first term withdrew from a previous international deal over Iran's nuclear program in 2018.
The third and final stage calls for the US congress to approve the nuclear agreement and for Washington to lift both primary and secondary sanctions, while Iran would transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpiles to a third country.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and the US intelligence assesses that Tehran has not yet resolved to build one, but the Trump administration has warned Iran it must come to a nuclear deal or face attack.
A second round due to be held in Rome on Saturday could prove more rocky than the amicable first round in which Iran submitted its plan for a deal.
Washington toughened its public stance on Tuesday, with both the White House and Witkoff saying that the US goal in negotiations would be the wholesale end of Iran's nuclear program, a notion Iran has repeatedly called a non-starter.
Iran's proposal welcomed by Witkoff
US envoy Witkoff welcomed the proposals presented by the Iranian side, the sources told Iran International, surprising the Iranian delegation in Muscat.
Iranian officialdom appeared cheered by the first round of talks, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remarking in a meeting with senior military commanders on Tuesday that "the initial steps have been implemented well".
A diplomatic source outside Tehran expressed skepticism to Iran International of the Islamic Republic's intentions in the talks and said it seeks to delay a foreign attack by staggering an agreement over several complex phases.
“One of the reasons Iran’s Supreme Leader agreed to allow the resumption of negotiations is the need to buy more time, because he knows Iran currently lacks the ability to defend itself against another airstrike," the source said.
“Iran is mainly stalling to buy time to rebuild its air defense capabilities, which were all destroyed by Israel in late October, and to restore its capacity to produce surface-to-surface missiles which were damaged in that same Israeli attack,” the source added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that his actions had previously thwarted Iran's ability to build a bomb, appearing to respond to a New York Times report that President Trump had halted Israeli plans to attack Iran.
"Netanyahu has led countless secret and open actions in the campaign against Iran's nuclear program that only thanks to them Iran does not have a nuclear arsenal today," the statement said.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Wednesday Iran was "not far" from possessing an atomic bomb.
"It's like a puzzle: they have the pieces and maybe one day they could put them back together. There's still a long way to go before we get there. But they're not far away, we have to admit that," he said in an interview with Le Monde.
"It's not enough to tell the international community 'we don't have nuclear weapons' for them to believe it. We have to be able to verify it," Grossi said.
In its latest report in March, the IAEA warned that over the past three months, Iran had significantly expanded its reserves of highly enriched uranium, and if this trend continues, its stockpile could theoretically be enough to produce six nuclear bombs.
Abouzar Rahmati, 42, a naturalized US citizen and resident of Great Falls, Virginia, admitted to conspiring to work with Iranian officials and intelligence operatives from at least December 2017 through June 2024. He faces up to 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government and five years for conspiracy.
According to court documents, Rahmati offered his services to Tehran in 2017 and later traveled to Iran, where he met with intelligence officers and agreed to obtain information for them about the US solar energy sector. He also gained employment with a US company contracting for the FAA, where he downloaded at least 172 gigabytes of sensitive access-controlled data.
The files included documents related to the National Aerospace System (NAS), airport surveillance radar, and radio frequency data. The DOJ said Rahmati took the data to Iran and handed it over to Iranian officials in April 2022.
"Rahmati agreed to obtain information about the US solar energy industry and FAA data, and deliver it to Iranian officials," prosecutors said in a statement. He also used a cover story involving academic research to hide his contacts.
"This defendant knowingly acted on behalf of the Government of Iran and took steps to place sensitive information into its hands," said Assistant Attorney General Sue Bai, who leads the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
Rahmati’s sentencing is scheduled for August 26. The FBI and FAA's counterintelligence division were involved in the investigation.
"The Iranian government continues to target American institutions for infiltration," said US Attorney Edward Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia. "We will hold accountable anyone who puts our national security at risk."
