TEHRAN, April 21 (UPI) -- Iran kicked off its 14th oil and gas expo Tuesday, hosting more than 850 domestic and 450 foreign companies in what is heralded as a sanctions buster.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari and First Vice President Parviz Davoudi inaugurated the exhibition Tuesday at the Permanent International Fairground in Tehran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reports.
Without offering specifics, the IRNA report said that of the 450 foreign companies present at the show, five were from the United States.
Exhibition director Ziaoddin Nouroddini lauded the convention in February as a way for international companies interested in the Iranian energy sector to dampen the effects of Western-imposed economic sanctions.
"By taking part in the fair, the foreign companies will make the sanctions against Iran ineffective," he said.
Tehran has boasted of the international interest in its lucrative natural resource potential despite Western reservations of dealing with Iran.
Iran ranks third in the world in terms of proven oil reserves and second in terms of natural gas reserves.
