News in Brief
Pakistani official urges completion of gas project with Iran
A Pakistani politician has called for the completion of the Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project aimed at providing energy for his country.
Hafiz Naeemur Rehman made the remarks in a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, as reported by Mehr News Agency.
Rehman said Iran’s energy resources can help provide Pakistan with 25% of its energy needs, urging the Pakistani government to not further delay the completion of the gas project with Iran.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch announced in May that the “Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline is included in the priority of Pakistan.”
In February, Islamabad approved the construction of an 80-kilometer section of the pipeline to avoid having to pay Iran some $18 billion in penalties for years of delays.
The United States has threatened Pakistan with sanctions if it goes ahead with a plan to build the pipeline to import gas from Iran.
Iran’s exports of handwoven carpets hit $13m in four months
The caretaker of Iran National Carpet and Creative Industries Center said that the country exported $13 million in handwoven carpets in the first four months of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2024).
Iran’s export of handwoven carpets in the period registered a six-percent growth compared to the last year’s corresponding period, Mohammadreza Zare stated, according to Mehr News Agency.
Turning to the growing trend of producing handwoven carpets in the country over the past three years, he pointed out that handwoven carpet production indicated an 11 percent growth in the previous Iranian year.
According to the statistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported $11.5 million in handwoven carpets in the first four months of the previous Iranian year (March 21 to July 22, 2023).