Iran rejects GCC claim over 3 Persian Gulf islands

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120562§ionid=351020101


Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has rejected a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) statement over its three Persian Gulf islands.

"The baseless claims made by the GCC in Riyadh over the Iranian islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa is a clear interference in Iran's internal affairs," Mehmanparast said on Wednesday.

"The three islands remain an indisputable part of the Iranian territory," he went on to say.

"We have repeatedly said that the slight misunderstanding between Iran and the UAE over Abu Musa is resolvable and the interference of other parties will never help solve the problem," he further explained.

Tehran possesses historical, legal and geographical documents verifying its sovereign right to the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

The three Persian Gulf islands were historically owned by Iran but the exercise of colonialism by Britain led to the islands temporarily falling under British control in the 1800s.

The islands were then returned to Iran on November 30th 1971 through a legal process before the state of the United Arab Emirates was created and the Al Nahyan family assumed leadership.

According to international regulations, no state can defy any agreements which had come into being before its creation unless such agreements had been officially declared as null and void by the newly-created state.

Iran, China sign $143mn drilling deal

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=120173&sectionid=351020103


Iran and China have reached a $143 million deal that allows a Chinese company to set up a drilling rig in the Persian Gulf.

The contract has been signed by Iran's North Drilling Company (NDCO) and China Petroleum Technology Development Corporation (CPTDC), NDCO chief Hedayatollah Khademi said.

"Based on the contract the CPTDC company, which is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will be delivering a drilling rig to the North Oil Drilling Company within the next 8 months to be used in the Persian Gulf's oil and gas fields," Khademi told Shana news agency on Saturday

The official added that his company has finalized a deal with another Chinese company for two jack-up rigs, planned to be installed in the Persian Gulf.

China, which now gets more than 15 percent of its oil from Iran, reportedly has commitments of more than $80 billion in the country's energy sector.

'With new refineries Iran will export gasoline'

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=117476§ionid=351020103


Iran plans to build seven new oil refineries with a capacity of 1.6 million barrels that could turn the country into a gasoline exporter.

Iran's official news agency, IRNA, in a report announced that the production of gasoline by the new refineries will not only meet domestic demand, but could result in sufficient production to turn the country into an exporter of gasoline.

The largest refinery, the "Persian Gulf Star", will be built in the city of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf with an estimated production of 35.6 million liters of gasoline per day.

The "Shahriar" refinery that is to be built in the northwestern city of Tabriz will be able to produce 8.1 million liters of gasoline daily.

Five additional refineries will be built, with a second installation in Bandar Abbas, and Shiraz and Abadan completing the locations in southern Iran, and a production center in the western city of Kermanshah and the northern province of Golesatan.

The plan to construct the new refineries comes as the US has already imposed sanctions targeting Iran's gasoline imports as part of Washington's efforts to apply pressure to Tehran over its nuclear program.

Tehran has repeatedly declared that Western sanctions are not able to force it to relinquish the legitimate nuclear rights of the Iranian nation.