March 13, 2016 - 8:10 PM EDT
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Iran says US companies welcome to invest in petroleum sector

TEHRAN, Iran
(AP) —
U.S.
companies are welcome to invest in
Iran's
oil and gas industry, the Iranian oil minister said on Sunday.

State-run Press TV quoted Bijan Namdar Zangeneh as saying that "in general, we have no problem with the presence of American companies in

Iran
."

He said it is the

U.S.
government that is "creating restrictions for these companies," without elaborating. Zangeneh also confirmed that
Iran's
state-run oil company has held talks with General Electric.

"Of course, my deputy conducted these negotiations and when I inquired about them, it was said that the talks were positive," he said.

GE said in a statement responding to questions about the talks that it is considering possibly doing business in

Iran
.

"In line with the easing of sanctions, we have begun looking at potential business opportunities in

Iran
, while fully complying with the rules laid out by the
U.S.
government," the company said.

The TV report said Zangeneh also asked Siemens executives to invest in

Iran's
oil and gas industry.

"The German company must come to

Iran
to build equipment and parts needed in our oil industry and manufacture them here," he said.

All sanctions related to

Iran's
nuclear program were lifted in January under a landmark agreement reached with world powers, but the
U.S.
maintains separate sanctions related to
Iran's
ballistic missile program and its support for State Department-designated terrorist groups.
Iran
is trying to regain its share of the global petroleum market after the removal of sanctions.
Saudi Arabia
,
Russia
,
Venezuela
and
Qatar
floated the idea of a production cap last month with the aim of boosting global oil prices, but it was conditional on other producers joining in.
Iran
, which is eager to jumpstart its oil industry, has so far resisted.

Zangeneh dismissed the idea of a production freeze by

Iran
as "a joke", according to the TV report. He said
Iran
will take part in discussions on a possible oil production freeze after its output reaches 4 million barrels per day.

"As long as we have not reached 4 million bpd in production, they should leave us alone," Zangeneh said.

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck in

Dubai, United Arab Emirates
contributed to this report.

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Source: Equities.com News (March 13, 2016 - 8:10 PM EDT)

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