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decision by the Royal Mail to place an embargo on mail addressed to Iran, IRNA reported on April 15.
The move by the privatised mail company has met with strong reactions from Iranians living in the UK. The Royal Mail has not explained why it is blocking Iran-bound mail, though there is speculation it is linked to payment difficulties caused by US sanctions that threaten parties involved in transactions.
In advice on sending items to Iran, the Royal Mail said that “due to operational issues, we are currently unable to deliver to Iran” and said it was working to find a solution as soon as possible.
In a tweet in Persian on April 13, Baeidinejad said the embassy would receive and deal with mail destined for Iran, adding that the service would be free of charge.
The Embassy never becomes a post office but the Embassy has the potential to take a number of extrordinary provisional tasks to assist our compatriots, while diplomacy aims to resolve the issue. The needs of the people always at the top.
In an exchange with bne IntelliNews on April 13 via Twitter, the ambassador said his embassy “has the potential to take a number of extraordinary provisional tasks to assist our compatriots, while diplomacy aims to resolve the issue.”
The UK government says it has no say in the commercial decisions of the privatised Royal Mail.
9.2 Major corporate news 9.2.1 Oil & gas corporate news
Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh has announced that an as yet unnamed Chinese company has signed a deal to develop part of the phase 11 project that covers part of the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, Mehr News Agency reported on April 16.
It is conceivable that the company in question could be China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC). CNPC suspended its involvement in phase 11 last year while under pressure from US officials who said Washington’s sanctions directed at Iran should preclude Beijing from remaining involved in the multi-billion-dollar project. Analysts said the Chinese were most likely using their decision-making on the South Pars investment as a bargaining chip with the Trump administration in ongoing talks to resolve the US-China trade war. Prior to CNPC’s suspension of its South Pars activities, France’s Total—which had become the first energy major to return to Iran after the 2016 introduction of the Iran nuclear deal—pulled out of phase 11 after the US, having exited the accord in May last year, warned it would impose secondary sanctions on foreign companies that continued to do business with Iran.
Zanganeh, referring to a phase 11 contract concluded with “a Chinese firm”, said: “Currently, talks are under way between executives of the two sides but it is still unclear how long the talks will continue.”
Iran badly needs foreign investment to boost output from its oil and gas resources. Much of its hydrocarbon production potential has remained unrealised during the years of Western sanctions.
A manager at the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) said on March 12 that there were 200 undeveloped oil and gas fields in Iran. “The recovery rate of Iranian fields is 10% lower than the average rate of recovery in the world,” Karim Zobeidi, NIOC’s deputy for planning, reportedly said.
41 IRAN Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com