Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Tuesday, “Why is Mr Trump upset that Europeans are earning money from doing business with Iran? Why is he preventing US companies (from working with Tehran)?”
US companies can come to Iran and make profit so as to make Trump pleased, he noted, adding that the Americans themselves are preventing their partnership with Iran.
“There is no need for Trump to be so much worried,” he added, according to Mehr News.
“If they want to, we are ready to negotiate with American companies about development of oil and gas resources.”
“We have not closed doors” to American companies,” he was quoted as saying by media outlets.
His comments came as US companies are still barred from directly doing business with Iran. That is despite the fact that the 2015 nuclear deal is in place.
Trump last week refused to re-certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal with world powers, and criticized Europeans for their participation in Iran’s energy projects. French oil giant Total SA has entered the Iranian market following the deal.