TEHRAN -- The Iranian ambassador to Japan has said it is expected that the volume of trade between Tehran and Tokyo would reach $17 billion in the future, despite the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic.

The sanctions have not negatively affected the relations between Iran and Japan, Ambassador Abbas Araghchi told IRNA in an interview on Sunday.
He added, “Considering the price of crude oil on the world market, it is expected that the volume of trade between Iran and Japan would reach 14 to 15 billion dollars by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (which ends on March 19, 2012).”
The volume of economic relations between Iran and Japan reached $12 dollars in 2010, which shows that Iran is still one of the major suppliers of crude oil to Japan, Araghchi stated.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian ambassador said that the situation is ripe for the enhancement of cooperation between the two countries in various areas, particularly in political, economic, and cultural spheres