Doing a deal: Hossein Nozari
Tehran ties up $1bn Syria gas deal
Iran and Syria have signed an agreement which will see Tehran export 3 billion cubic metres of gas per annum to its ally in a deal worth an annual $1 billion, according to reports.
Iranian caretaker Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari and Syrian counterpart Sufian Allaw signed a memorandum of understanding in Tehran, Thomson Financial Iranian state television reported.
"With the signing of these agreements, experts will start work to define the transit cost and examine the other aspects of the contract," said Nozari.
State television said that the exports are set to start in 2009.
Nozari said the gas would be supplied to Syria via its northern neighbour Turkey, which already receives Iranian gas through a pipeline linking the northern city of Tabriz and Ankara.