TEHRAN (Iran News) Safari noted that Iran currently operates shipping lines connecting to East and North Africa, with Iranian vessels regularly traveling to ports in Tanzania, Kenya, and Libya. “These ships depart monthly or bimonthly, depending on cargo availability and logistical arrangements,” he said. However, the new initiative focuses on establishing direct maritime connections to West and Southwest Africa, a decision formalized during an Africa Committee meeting. Part of this plan includes modernizing Iran’s shipping fleet to support expanded operations.

Safari outlined Iran’s strategic approach to African trade, categorizing countries into three priority tiers. Nations hosting Iranian embassies, trade centers, or commercial attachés—such as Kenya, South Africa, Algeria, and Nigeria—are at the forefront of this trade push. “These countries are our top priorities for deepening commercial ties,” he emphasized.

Trade between Iran and Africa largely operates on a barter system, though Safari clarified that this extends beyond simple goods exchange. “It involves complex currency and banking mechanisms,” he said, reflecting the challenges of navigating international financial systems under sanctions. Iran primarily imports minerals, agricultural products, and precious stones like diamonds and gold from Africa, while exporting petrochemicals, machinery, and equipment. However, Safari noted a shift in African preferences: “They’re more interested in joint production investments for machinery than direct imports.” Currently, bitumen and urea top Iran’s export list to the continent.

Looking ahead, Safari announced plans for a significant petrochemical export drive at the 2025 Iran-Africa Summit. Additionally, Iran is pursuing an ambitious extraterritorial farming program in Africa to secure agricultural inputs amid domestic currency constraints. “Africa could become a key supplier for Iran’s needs,” he explained. “Iranian private companies could cultivate crops there, with the produce imported back home.” This initiative requires coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture to issue import permits and set quotas. Safari added that traders engaging in such barter-based farming in 2026 would receive special incentives, pending an operational framework agreement with the ministry.

On the mining front, Safari addressed Iran’s extraterritorial mining ambitions in Africa, identifying a key challenge: “Iran prefers buying minerals over investing in African mines.” Overcoming currency export hurdles could position Africa as a priority for mining investments, he suggested, noting that Iran has already identified target minerals and mines. “There’s also potential to transfer Iranian technology and machinery to support these efforts,” he added.

Iran’s push into Africa aligns with its broader strategy to diversify trade partners and reduce reliance on oil exports amid Western sanctions. The Africa Committee, under the Vice President’s leadership, reflects a high-level commitment to this goal. Historically, Iran’s trade with Africa has been modest, but recent years have seen renewed focus, particularly in East Africa. Expanding to West and Southwest Africa—regions rich in resources like oil, gas, and minerals—could open new markets for Iranian goods and secure vital imports.

The extraterritorial farming and mining initiatives underscore Iran’s innovative approaches to circumvent financial restrictions. By leveraging barter systems and overseas production, Tehran aims to stabilize its economy while fostering sustainable partnerships. The modernization of its shipping fleet, meanwhile, signals a long-term investment in logistics to support these ambitions.

As Iran prepares for the 2025 summit, its evolving trade strategy could reshape its economic ties with Africa, offering mutual benefits in a shifting global landscape.

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Iranian experts have also carried out well-logging on an offshore exploratory block in the Persian Gulf with gas reserves estimated at 30 trillion cubic feet, director of exploration at NIOC Mehdi Fakour announced on Tuesday.

“For the first time, we have achieved the method of aerial magnetometry which is used up to a depth of 7,000 meters below the surface of the earth to identify reservoirs and hydrocarbon fields,” the official said.

The technique involves using unmanned aircraft and magnetometers equipped with georeferencing systems and other navigation instruments to perform magnetic scans.

Fakour said the design of the aircraft was carried out by Iranian scientists, and the plane is currently being used to collect data. “One tenth of the area of the country is to be surveyed by this plane,” he said.

“Few people in the world have the ability to fly such an aircraft, which must be flown at a low altitude – 600 meters above ground – under special conditions.  A 30-year-old Iranian, trained domestically, will do this grave task in the Zagros mountains,” Fakour added.

Most of Iran’s oil and gas fields lie in a belt running along its maritime boundary in the Persian Gulf and the foothills of the Zagros Mountains – an extensive folded zone which is geologically the result of the Arabian plate’s collision with the central Iranian plateau.

The collision has trapped thick layers of ancient limestone and sandstone and turned them into some of the world’s biggest oil and gas accumulations.

The Zagros basin covers more than 550,000 square kilometers, stretching from Turkey and Syria through the Iraqi Kurdistan into Iran where its sediments are ideally up to 12,000 meters thick.

Some 23 Iranian hydrocarbon fields lie in border areas and are shared between Iran and adjacent countries, including Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan.

The Islamic Republic has kicked off cooperation with four countries, including Tajikistan, in implementing exploring studies, he said.

Some 14 exploration blocs have been defined in Iran, but none of them have been handed over or invested in due to cruel sanctions on the country, he noted.

According to the director, Iran cooperates with an Asian country and five European ones to follow up on research projects, and an offshore bloc comprised of 30 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas reserves is located in the Persian Gulf, which can play a key role in upgrading industrial level in the country.

He further underlined that another method is geobotanical prospecting, which refers to prospecting based on indicator plants like metallophytes and the analysis of vegetation, and that an Iranian knowledge-based company in collaboration with a university paved the ground for locating the first well explored by use of the method.

The budget for exploration increased 31 percent, he said, adding that the exploration projects in Iran need 1.5 billion dollars within a five-year period.

The Exploration Department of the National Iranian Oil Company is holding negotiations with three Iranian firms for outsourcing three blocs worth 2.5 billion dollars, the official note

Iran’s proven oil reserves of at least 160 billion barrels account for almost 10 percent of the world total and rank it fourth after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada. The country also sits on the world’s largest proven gas reserves of almost 34 trillion cubic meters, or 18 percent of the global total.

Iran’s oil and gas resources are also some of the exceptionally most attractive in the world from an economic point of view. They are trapped in large, conventional reservoirs with excellent geological properties that make them highly productive at a low cost.

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