Iran's energy sector review

Following in the footsteps of several top Iranian officials, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad welcomed U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's offer for direct talks between the two nations on Wednesday. Ahmadinejad's welcome came simultaneously with the implementation of new U.S. sanctions on Iran which were approved by the Senate and received President Barak Obama's signature on Feb.6. However, regarding a deadline on Iran's disputed nuclear program and the continued worsening of the Iranian economy, Tehran may be convinced that there is no way out except for direct negotiations with Washington. Iran, whose oil export shared 87.9 percent of total export in 2011, faced serious obstacles with both crude oil exports and revenue collection last year. According to reports, Iran's oil export halved during 2012. Iran's petroleum minister confirmed a 40 percent drop in oil revenues and a 45 percent dip in the collection of oil export incomes. Iran's national curr...

Kazakhstan has officially confirmed that the country will host talks on the nuclear program between Iran and the "5 +1" countries. But why Kazakhstan? Upon Iran's initiative, talks on the nuclear program were held in Turkey, Iraq and Russia in 2012. Iraq's Shiite government led by Nuri al-Maliki is a close ally of Iran. Turkey is not only a Muslim country, but also a country in non-compliance with Western sanctions, and the largest economic partner of Iran. Russia is one of the six countries (along with the U.S., Great Britain, France, China and Germany) and holds about the same position with Iran against the West. This year Iran offered to hold talks in Egypt, but the "5 +1" countries dismissed this proposal. Egypt is a Muslim country, in addition, Iran has been seeking to expand relations with the country for many years. It should be noted that there have been no diplomatic relations between Iran and Egypt for 33 years. Both countries are members...