News in Brief
Tehran, Tashkent emphasize developing trade ties
Officials from Iran and Uzbekistan stressed the need to expand cooperation in the fields of trade, economy and energy.
Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Abbas Aliabadi and his accompanying delegation, during a visit to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, held talks with the ministers of industry and energy of Uzbekistan to broaden bilateral ties in trade, economic and energy fields, reported Tasnim News Agency.
The two sides weighed
plans for developing bilateral relations and discussed issues of mutual interest.
Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Mahdi Zeyghami, Deputy Minister of Industry for transportation affairs Manouchehr Manteqi, Deputy Minister of Industry for equipment and machinery affairs Mohammad Mousavi, and Deputy Minister of Industry for mining and mineral processing affairs Reza Mohtashamipour accompanied Aliabadi on his visit to Uzbekistan. Meeting with Iranian businesspersons in Uzbekistan was also on the agenda of the Iranian delegation during the visit to the Central Asian country.
IRGC seizes foreign vessel carrying ‘smuggled’ fuel
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps seized Sunday a foreign oil tanker carrying around two million litres of “smuggled fuel” near the country’s southern coast, local media reported.
“A foreign vessel with the flag of a country from Oceania was identified with two million litres of smuggled diesel,” reported Tasnim News Agency.
The ship “was seized in accordance with a court order,” the agency said, quoting IRGC commander Heydar Honaryan.
Fourteen crew members were also arrested, he noted, saying they were nationals of “two Asian countries”, without specifying which.
Iran, a major oil producer, has among the cheapest petrol prices in the world, which encourages fuel trafficking. Iranian forces regularly target tankers illegally transporting fuel in the Persian Gulf.