Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 4 / Trend F.Milad/
Iran has rejected Turkey's demand for a price discount on the Islamic Republic's natural gas exports to its neighbor, Mehr news agency quoted Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi as saying on Saturday.
Iran is facing a series of legal limitations for offering discount to Turkey on gas exports, the minister added.
Turkey's Energy Minister said on January 16 that Iran has rejected Ankara's demand for cheaper natural gas, adding that going to an international arbitration court over the issue seems "inevitable", Press TV reported.
The National Iranian Gas Export Company's Managing Director Hossein Bidarmaghz said that Iran is ready to increase natural gas exports to Turkey, if needed.
"A daily average of over 24 million cubic meters of natural gas has been delivered to Turkey's state-run Botas Company since the beginning of the current calendar year," he added.
Noting that Iran's gas export to Turkey have risen by 12 percent this year, he added that "based on a mutual contract, Iran must deliver a daily average of 30 million cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey."
Tehran and Ankara signed a 25-year gas deal in August 1996 according to which Iran will export an annual amount of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey.
Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves after Russia with available gas reserves estimated at over 33 trillion cubic meters.
In addition to exporting gas to Turkey, Armenia, and Pakistan, the Islamic republic is currently negotiating gas exports to Iraq.