No Prohibition on American Oil Companies

Iran's oil minister says there is no ban on American companies wanting to work in the oil industry.

The semi-official ILNA news agency on Tuesday quoted Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as saying that "American companies face no ban on entering our oil industry," AP reported.

However, Zanganeh said American companies "have not directly applied" to work in Iran's oil industry, so far.

This is the first such remark by Iran after an executive order by US President Donald Trump on Friday banned immigration and visa processing for Iranians alongside six other Muslim countries.

In January, the Oil Ministry published list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for oil and gas projects following the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear accord that went into effect last year.

Amirhossein Zamaninia, deputy oil minister for international affairs, told CNN in an interview last month that Tehran is ready to cooperate with US companies under the Trump administration.

"We see a lot of indication that there is a departure in the current (US) administration and we do not see a conflict coming up," Zamaninia said in a video interview in his office in Tehran.

Iranian officials have reiterated in the past that Tehran has no constraint in doing business with US-based companies, stressing that restrictions imposed by Washington are holding back American companies from lucrative investment opportunities in Iran's economy and energy sectors.