Firouz Dolatabadi, Iran's Ambassador to Turkey, is of the opinion that the prevailing disagreements among Iranian officials over the presence of Turkish investors in giant national projects would be resolved, sooner or later, but what remains for long would be the bad impression among Turkish firms.
In an interview with the Persian publication Ravand-e Eqtesadi, the senior diplomat said cancellation of an economic contract with Turkey should not be interpreted as Tehran's political determination not to boost two-way cooperation with Ankara.
He, however, does not seem to be pleased on how a technical disagreement over the terms of a contract could turn into a heated dispute between the pro-reform government and the conservative-dominated Seventh Parliament, which cost Transport Minister Ahmad Khorram his job in an impeachment in September.
Excerpts of the interview follow:

IKIA is the country's most important airport and its security issues are being pursued with much sensitivity like in any other country.

A big question mark hangs over the fate of three giant agreements with Turkey, namely the Imam Khomeini International Airport, Second Operator of cellular phone system and natural gas exports from Iran. Where are contracts with TurkCell and Tav heading?
I think our contract with TurkCell (for development of Second Operator project) would certainly become operational.
This is mainly because the two countries are aware that bilateral
cooperation is an economic necessity for Iran and a historical desire on the part of the Turks, who want to strengthen their ties with Iranians.
I believe that the TurkCell agreement will be executed in a successful manner and prepare the ground for greater cooperation between Iran and Turkey in technical, electronics and industrial areas.
But as regards the Tav contract (for development of the Imam Khomeini International Airport, south of Tehran), the situation is rather more complex. Of course this complexity does not pertain to technical aspects of the project, rather certain security considerations are involved. This is because the IKIA is the country's most important airport and its security issues are being pursued with much sensitivity like in any other country.
Nevertheless, I think we would be able to reach concrete results in the end as to the Tav contract, which could undergo certain changes as well, due to prevailing security concerns.

What are the consequences of the problems created for Turkish contracts on foreign investments in Iran?
The recent developments would certainly have an impact on future cooperation with Turkish companies, but I do not think the same would apply to firms from other countries.
Non-alliance of Iranian and Turkish economies has been on top of the agenda of the United States in the past 80 years and Europe for more than two centuries now.
For the very reason European, American and Israeli companies were happy to see economic cooperation between Iran and Turkey diminishing following the recent controversies.

Bilateral cooperation is an economic necessity for Iran and a historical desire for the Turks.

But Turkish companies were shocked in their first major partnership with their eastern neighbor. Some of them ask 'will every interaction with Iran's economy meet the same fate?'
Despite that we believe the problems facing TurkCell and Tav contracts would be resolved and the two projects would be implemented with or without amendments. We are trying to elaborate on the very fact that such issues do not mean a political determination against cooperation with Turkey.
Turkey, itself, has annulled several foreign contracts worth a total of more than $10 billion in recent years. No country has taken this as a political gesture.

Given that Turkey is preparing for EU membership, how do you think the European Union will view economic cooperation between Ankara and Tehran?
Europeans normally establish good economic relations with other countries. Given this, Iran also receives greater attention due to its huge hydrocarbon reserves and its strategic transit location.
On the other hand, the European Union needs a peaceful neighborhood to which Iran could also contribute.
Another important point is that Iran is a traditional market in this region, while it has little in common with other Middle Eastern countries in terms of ethnic backgrounds.
The Persian race is much closer to European than to Middle Eastern races. This common racial background could also encourage EU to develop cooperation with Iran.

Ankara and the EU are aware of the significance of the project to export natural gas from Iran to Europe via Turkey.

How is the trend of negotiations with Turkey on greater bilateral transit cooperation?
Both Turkey and European Union are very well aware of the significance of the project to transit natural gas from Iran to Europe via Turkey. Ankara knows the initiative would have a large impact on its economic and political status.
Iran has also realized the necessity of implementing such a project and knows that Turkey is the best available route for transit of goods to Europe. We understand that Turkey is our most stable neighbor in the region.
Hence, I do not think Turkey's full accession to EU would create any problems for two-way cooperation.
As regards the present controversies over Turkish companies presence in sensitive economic projects, I would like to mention that technical issues should not be influenced by political considerations.
Every customer wants to buy a product at a lower price. Based on the same logic, Turks are bargaining for price discounts.
On the other hand, Iran does not want the price of gas it sells to Turkey via a pipeline to drop.
So these are technical issues, which should not be looked at through political spectacles.
We believe that the two countries would reach a consensus both on bilateral agreements and on the price of gas at the end of the day.

Has our foreign policy apparatus been successful in improving the country's international economic relations?
I personally think that Iran is the most 'political' country in the world. Political considerations rule almost all relations of the Islamic Republic in domestic and international arenas.
In recent years, domestic economic institutions and the foreign policy apparatus have realized the need for a convergence.
This does not mean new limitations; it aims chiefly at heralding a new era in the country's economy.
Practically, Iran's embassies are unable to promote bilateral trade with small industries in other countries due to their limited facilities.
I think Iran's economy is not a completely closed one as you could find anything in its open markets.
But the main problem is that the country's economic officials take their overseas trade negotiations too hard.
On paper are extensive formalities hindering foreign trade. But in practice, our economic interaction with other countries, especially with Persian Gulf littoral states is at a favorable level.
I think we must act far more scientifically and with an open-mind.
As regards to economic and political relations with neighboring countries, I believe that economic considerations are more important than political ones.
This is mainly because the political apparatus is basically eager to establish good neighborly relations with regional countries, while the economic sector does not necessarily think so.
For instance, the value of economic transactions with Turkey and Pakistan hardly reached 30 and five million dollars, respectively, under the former Pahlavi regime.
During the same period, our economic relations with South Africa and India were worth more than one billion dollars and $600 million, respectively.