Tehran, Iran, June 13
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
Iran has turned to targeting new markets in the region and among the CIS nations, following Washington’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, said Adnan Mousapour, a board member of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
“Before and after the JCPOA, Iran has been a tradition importer of goods from Europe and the US,” Mousapour told Trend.
He added that Iran, however, has long been a major exporter of goods to its neighboring countries in the region.
In the past two months, Iran has been targeting new markets in Central Asia and those in CIS area, the official said.
Referring to impending US sanctions, Mousapour said, “No opportunity should be lost under difficult circumstances like sanctions, banking restrictions, and political pressure”.
He added that Iran is currently suffering from weaknesses in the areas of programming and support for exports and that they should be addressed soon.
Elsewhere in the interview, Mousapour said that trade transactions between Iran and Qatar are underway and Tehran is mainly exporting agricultural products and construction material to this Arab country.
In a speech from the White House on May 8, US President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.
The new US sanctions will take six months to kick in, but a number of European companies have already halted their businesses in Iran despite verbal pledges by their governments to protect them against any fallout.