Tehran appeals to American companies

Tehran has no objection to American companies operating in the country, including in the oil and gas sector, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday. "We have not banned the economic presence of American companies in Iran," Araghchi said, attributing the lack of American business activity to sanctions imposed by Washington.

According to him, the main sanctions prohibit American entities and individuals from trading with the Iranian market. "This ban was imposed by the United States itself," he insisted. "If American companies want to invest in the Iranian economy, the United States must lift its own sanctions," Abbas Araghchi added.

His remarks come amid ongoing Omani-mediated negotiations between Iran and the United States, which began on April 12, aimed at reaching a new agreement on Tehran's nuclear program. These negotiations represent the highest level of engagement between the two nations since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

The Iranian foreign minister stipulated that American companies could operate in key sectors of the Iranian economy, including the oil and gas industry, as Tehran has never imposed a ban on their activities.

Washington and Tehran are moving closer to a nuclear deal, Donald Trump said Thursday in Qatar. However, the US government announced sanctions on Wednesday against individuals and companies based in Iran, which it accuses of "helping the Iranian regime locally manufacture" the means to produce intercontinental ballistic missiles.