Wednesday, March 22, 2023
 
 

Iran wants to ‘restart’ ties with Europe, US

- Advertisement -

BAKU – Iran is seeking to “restart” its relations with the European Union and the United States in an effort to get back into the political and diplomatic arena and find markets for its abundant hydrocarbon resources, Hassan Ghafourifard, Iran’s former minister of energy, former member of parliament and former vice president under Hashemi Rafsanjani from 1981-1995, told New Europe in Baku on 10 October. He was in Azerbaijan to monitor the former Soviet republic’s presidential elections.

“I think a new era has been started with the new president and as you know he talked with [US President Barack] Obama after 35 years. So the ice is melting. The atmosphere will be much better,” Ghafourifard said.

Late last month, Obama spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the first communication between an American and Iranian President since 1979.

The two leaders discussed ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme.

Obama said in a statement that while “success is by no means guaranteed, I believe we can reach a comprehensive solution”.

“I’ve directed Secretary [of State John] Kerry to continue pursuing this diplomatic effort with the Iranian government. We had constructive discussions yesterday in New York with our partners — the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China — together with the Iranian Foreign Minister,” Obama said. “And throughout this process, we’ll stay in close touch with our friends and allies in the region, including Israel,” he added.

Ghafourifard said Rouhani gave a new message trying to mend ties. “We don’t want to have the enmity between Iran and the other countries so we are trying to improve our diplomatic relations with other countries, including the United States. Of course with Israel we don’t have relations. Besides Israel any other country we’ll have good relations,” Ghafourifard quipped.

He noted that Iran is one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers. “We’re the second in gas reserves and third in oil reserves. We’re the second in the world next to Russia. We have to sell this gas and oil to other countries. We don’t want to consume it all for ourselves. So we have to have relations with other countries,” he said.

He said that Iran is also eyeing the Asian market. With Azerbaijan he sees future co-operation in oil swapping and electricity.

He noted that former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad had only relations with South America or maybe some African countries. “But this time the president went to the UN and talked to most of the European countries and said we will restart the relations with the British. They’ll have their embassy in Iran and we’ll have our embassy in London so with all the countries which are in the UN, European countries, the United States, Japan, we’ll have better relations,” Ghafourifard said.

However, he said Iran will not abandon its nuclear programme. “Iran is using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and our leaderships have said we will never make a nuclear bomb. So use the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and we’re ready to open up the sites for the international observers to see that we are only using that for peaceful purposes,” he claimed.

follow on twitter @energyinsider

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Co-founder / Director of Energy & Climate Policy and Security at NE Global Media

Latest

EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious

The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in...

Cambodia’s current government is the face of tropical Fascism

There is no hope that the authoritarianism that the world sees in places like Russia, China and Cambodia can ever be interpreted as a peaceful and benign phenomenon, or that it should be accepted by an implicit racist or discriminatory assumption that some cultures just don’t have a democratic tradition and aren’t quite capable of ever developing one.

Energy supply diversification out of Russia’s orbit is a top priority for Bulgaria

Bulgaria intends to diversify its energy resources, including supplying...

Recovery from the disaster of the century needs more than a few months of international assistance

Two devastating earthquakes hit the Turkish-Syrian border on February...

Don't miss

EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious

The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in...

Cambodia’s current government is the face of tropical Fascism

There is no hope that the authoritarianism that the world sees in places like Russia, China and Cambodia can ever be interpreted as a peaceful and benign phenomenon, or that it should be accepted by an implicit racist or discriminatory assumption that some cultures just don’t have a democratic tradition and aren’t quite capable of ever developing one.

Energy supply diversification out of Russia’s orbit is a top priority for Bulgaria

Bulgaria intends to diversify its energy resources, including supplying...

Recovery from the disaster of the century needs more than a few months of international assistance

Two devastating earthquakes hit the Turkish-Syrian border on February...

Georgia has shown the world that a Kremlin project can be defeated

Over the past few days, the world’s attention was...

Energy supply diversification out of Russia’s orbit is a top priority for Bulgaria

Bulgaria intends to diversify its energy resources, including supplying the country’s main refinery in Burgas - the largest in the Balkans - with non-Russian...

Energy-strapped Germany sets ambitious 30 GW offshore wind target by 2030

Germany, which has been struggling to fill its massive energy gap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduction of natural gas deliveries, is planning...

Georgia, Romania mull Black Sea undersea power cable to supply CEE Europe

Georgia, which is a transit country for oil and gas routes, is spearheading efforts to launch a very ambitious project that would create a corridor for green energy from the Caspian to the Balkans and CEE.

Azerbaijan planning to launch green energy exports to Europe

Azerbaijan, which is already a main exporter of oil and gas, plans to develop its renewable energy potential, especially offshore wind in the Caspian...

A Pan-American electricity grid from Patagonia to Alaska?

Challenges associated with different regulatory frameworks and the comprehensive international treaties that are required could scuttle the project before it gets off the ground.

In Davos, philanthropists back $3 tln initiative for climate & nature

A new global initiative will fund and grow new and existing public, private and philanthropic partnerships to help unlock $3 trillion in financing to reach net zero, reverse nature loss and restore biodiversity by 2050.

Is “cable diplomacy” shaping energy policy in the Mediterranean & Middle East?

The transition towards a carbon neutral economy has become a priority for many governments around the world. Using the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals...

UN says ozone layer recovery is on track

UN experts said the ozone layer is on track to recover within four decades, with the global phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals already benefitting efforts to mitigate climate change.