‘Value of Iran-Iraq trade to reach $9bn mark by year end despite US sanctions’

In an interview with ILNA, Issa Al-e Es’haq said Iran was expanding trade with its neighbors under President Ebrahim Raisi, and that there were plans for a boost in economic exchanges with Pakistan, Armenia and Turkey.

He said between 6 to 7 million tons of goods had been exported to Iraq over the past four months and the 9-billion-dollar mark in the value of trade between the two neighbors would materialize by the end of the current Persian calendar year, which will end on March 20, 2023.

The business official also pointed to the negotiations underway to secure a revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and said a potential revitalization of the agreement, which would lift the US sanctions, would remove many restrictions currently hindering Iran’s trade ties with other countries.

If the talks collapse, he added, Iran will continue promoting trade cooperation with neighbors, something which is already on track and goes ahead smoothly.

On ties with China, Al-e Es’haq said Tehran-Beijing relations would continue to grow even if the sanctions on Iran was removed and the country was given access to European markets.