Azerbaijan, Baku, September 18 /Trend, N. Umid/
Iran plans to use its assets in China for developing the country's railway transportation system, the Iran's Roads and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi said, Iranian State IRINN TV reported.
He went on to note that developing railway transportation is more important than road and air transportation, adding that the country's railway transport development needs huge investments, both in infrastructure and in its fleet.
Iran cannot transfer the money from oil sales to the country due to international sanctions which target the Central Bank of Iran as well as its national currency, the Rial.
According to Iranian former Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Hamid Safdel, Iran has also about $100 billion worth of foreign reserves blocked aboard due to sanctions.
On July 29, Iranian Tasnim news portal quoted the deputy head of the Iranian Committee for Transportation and Fuel Management Amir Jafarpour as saying Iran has ordered 315 metro cars from a Chinese company.
This order will be paid out of the funds that were to be obtained by Iran from the sale of oil to China.
Jafarpour said that this situation is related to the sanctions imposed against Iran, as a result of which, Iran compensated the return of money from oil sold to China with an order for subway cars.
Iran has previously held a number of deals and agreed with a number of countries, including Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, etc., on the barter of products and technical equipment in exchange for oil and oil products.