Morningstar says no to Iranian gas

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Iran is not in a geopolitical position to take part in energy projects in the southern European corridor, the U.S. special envoy for Eurasian energy said.

Richard Morningstar, the U.S. envoy, arrived in Ankara this week to meet with Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz.

The envoy said that unless Tehran normalizes its relationship with Washington and addresses nuclear concerns, it has no place in new European energy projects, Turkey's leading English-language daily Today's Zaman reports.

"We have been constantly saying that, in our opinion, Iran is not in a position to become a part of any new projects in the Southern Corridor," he said.

The Southern Corridor is a European energy network that includes the lauded Nabucco gas pipeline for Europe and other transit networks. Despite the political will to move forward with Nabucco, the project lacks firm commitments from potential suppliers.

Ankara has suggested Iranian gas could feed Nabucco, though Washington favors an Iraqi option.

Morningstar added European energy matters with Iran are not new, as Ankara and Tehran have discussed gas cooperation at least since construction on the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline began in 2003.