Expert outlines obstacles to building Iran-Iraq-Turkmenistan gas pipeline
An expert on energy issues has said that one of the obstacles to establishing the gas pipeline between Iran, Iraq, and Turkmenistan is that Turks are unwilling to get dependent on Iran.
The expert, Mir Ghassem Momeni, said, “The Turks do not want to be dependent on Iran, that is why they are looking for a gas pipeline from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Turkey, and Iraq to the Persian Gulf.”
He made the remarks in an exclusive interview with ILNA.
The expert added, “Energy transfer is now an important issue in the Middle East region, and in this regard, various ways have been proposed for energy transfer in the Caspian Basin, Eurasia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.”
He continued, “Turkey is considering running a pipeline without the presence of Iran, and is actually seeking to reduce its dependence on Iran. In other words, due to the political and economic competition we have with Turkey in the region, this country does not want to be involved in the field of energy pipelines to any point in Iran.”
Momeni stated, “The issue of transferring the pipeline from Turkmenistan to Iraq through Iran is political, and on the other hand, the Turks do not want to be dependent on Iran, that is why they are looking for a gas pipeline from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nakhchivan, Turkey, and Iraq to the Persian Gulf.”
According to the expert, another issue is that the investors of this pipeline from Turkmenistan to Iraq are Israeli and American.