Russia has become the largest foreign investor in Iran, according to an Iranian deputy finance minister who says the country has attracted a significant amount of foreign investment in the past 15 months despite US sanctions that ban countries and entities from engaging in business activity in Iran.
Ali Fekri, who leads the Organization for Investment & Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran, said the Russians had brought some $2.7 billion worth of investment to two petroleum projects in Iran in the past 15 months.
The figure accounts for some 45% of the total foreign investment attracted by Iran over the period, said Fekri.
The official added, however, that Iran was not happy with the amount of investment committed by China for economic and energy projects in Iran in the 15 months to the end of 2022.
“China has invested nearly $185 million in Iran over that period which we are not happy with given the amount of negotiations and meetings we had,” he said.
Fekri said Iran had set a target of $10.2 billion in direct foreign investment for the 15 months to December last year of which some $5.95 billion had entered the country.
He said the figure was much higher than investments that had been attracted by Iran in years that followed the signing of a nuclear agreement between the country and world powers in 2015.
The rise in foreign investment in Iran comes as the country is still under an American regime of sanctions that has banned any investment in Iranian economic and energy projects since 2018.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/01/28/697147/Iran-foreign-investment-Russia-figures
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
Hegseth abruptly removed Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April, while Trump has not yet nominated a permanent successo....more below
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
