TEHRAN – Iran has reached agreements with Syria and Iraq to construct refineries in the mentioned counties and operates them as a shareholder, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s Energy Committee said.

One of the major solutions for neutralizing the U.S. sanctions is to develop extra-territorial cooperation with other countries in oil industry like constructing and shareholding in refineries abroad, Qasem Saedi told IRNA on Thursday.

According to Saedi, Iran has also inked agreements with south American countries like Venezuela to renovate their refineries.

Noting that one of the basic issues that worries the West is the entry of Iranian technology into countries that are in America's backyard, Saedi said: “They know very well that one of the opportunities that Iran was able to create in order to neutralize the impacts of the sanctions was contributing to the development of the oil industries of other countries like Venezuela.”

“Iran has made significant advancement in terms of technical and engineering knowledge and technology as well as in training experts; In fact, today we are among the well-known pioneers in the energy sector and especially in constructing refineries,” he said.

He further noted that the Islamic Republic has also expressed readiness for providing the same services to Lebanon.

“They will most likely welcome the proposal and we will definitely be collaborating with other countries in Central Asia in the near future,” Saedi added.

EF/MA