With the launch of these four new phases, Iran for the first time will overtake Qatar in extracting gas from the joint oil and gas field.

IRAN NEWS NATIONAL DESK

President Rouhani, who has travelled to Bushehr province, attended the opening ceremony of Phases 13 22, 23, and 24 of South Pars in the port city of Kangan.

In his speech, Rouhani praised Iranian engineers for completing the construction of the new phases in the giant gas field despite the US sanctions, and once again slammed Washington for its “very unfair” bans.

“This is a crime against humanity. It has affected the quality of our public services, making it difficult to protect our environment and public health. However, God is with us. Together, we can and we will defeat U.S. sanctions.”

During the ceremony, the Minister of Oil and the managers and experts of these phases, explained the process of building this huge complex.

Earlier, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the $10-billion projects can produce 112 million cubic meters of gas per day, overtaking Qatar, with which Iran shares the offshore field.

Iran has divided the development of South Pars to 24 onshore phases, all of which are now operational except for phases 11 and 14.

Meanwhile earlier yesterday, Rouhani said  Iran is ready to establish good relations with all its neighboring countries with an objective of advancing the region’s interests.

“We are keen to have a good relationship with all our neighbors,” President Rouhani said in an address to a large crowd of people in the southwestern city of Bushehr.

He said that even if there were strains in the ties between the Islamic Republic and some of its neighbors, they had been initiated by the opposite side.

“We have a good relationship with our neighbors, including Qatar, Oman, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and we want such a relationship to exist between us and all of our neighbors,” he added.

Rouhani said it didn’t matter for Iran whether countries were Shia-majority or Sunni-majority or whether they were located north of the Persian Gulf or to its south. “Our goal must be the development of the entire region.”

He said that in spite of attempts by the US, Israel and “some reactionary regional countries” to exert pressure on the Iranian nation, Iran would continue on its path and develop better relations with its neighbors day by day.

The Iranian president further referred to his recent visit to Iraq and hailed Tehran-Baghdad ties as “exemplary.”

He added that good bilateral agreements had been reached during his trip to Iraq.

Elsewhere in his address, Rouhani said that although enemies could create problems for the Iranians people, they could not bring the “brave and resistant” nation to its knees.

“We all know that our enemies have over the past year employed all their capabilities to exert pressure on the Iranian people, hoping to drive a wedge between the people of Iran and the establishment…, but the people have endured the difficulties and have responded to the enemies of their land with a resounding ‘no,’” President Rouhani said.