As negotiations between Iran and the U.S. continue amidst rising tensions, Tehran has presented a bold new proposition to President Donald Trump: trade over bombs. <\/p>\n
On February 20, Iran’s Oil Minister, Mohsen Paknejad, revealed that collaboration between Iran and the U.S. in the oil and gas sector could be possible given the ongoing negotiations. When questioned about potential energy cooperation, Paknejad stated, ‘Everything is possible.’ These remarks followed the latest round of nuclear talks in Geneva on February 17. Prior to these discussions, Iran had actively signaled the possibility of trade agreements aimed at easing sanctions and preventing further U.S. attacks, even as the Trump administration amassed forces in the Middle East.During a meeting of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce on February 15, Hamid Ghanbari, Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy, emphasized that ‘shared interests’ in oil and gas, mineral investments, and aircraft purchases are part of the negotiation framework, stressing that any agreement must yield economic returns. <\/p>\n
According to the Wall Street Journal, some regional diplomats have suggested a proposal involving trade agreements, hoping that this large-scale plan, akin to Trump’s initiative to end the Gaza conflict, would capture Trump’s attention. <\/p>\n
On paper, access to OPEC’s vast hydrocarbon reserves should naturally align with Trump’s trade-based foreign policy and energy agenda. However, in practice, Tehran’s proposal faces significant structural and political obstacles, especially considering the looming threat of potential U.S. military action and internal unrest in the 90-million-strong nation. Experts express skepticism regarding Tehran’s trade proposal.Gregory Brew, a senior analyst on Iran and energy at Eurasia Group, told Al Monitor, ‘At this juncture, an agreement seems unlikely, while one allowing U.S. investment in Iran appears nearly impossible.’ He cited sanctions, deep-seated animosity towards American companies, and Iran’s tumultuous operational environment as key challenges. <\/p>\n
As U.S. pressure on Iran intensifies, some observers draw parallels with Venezuela’s situation. Following the ousting of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro in January, Washington quickly sought to impose its influence over the country’s oil sector, encouraging major U.S. companies to return. <\/p>\n
With the Trump administration focusing on Iran, American industrial players have swiftly expressed interest in establishing a similar scenario in the Islamic Republic. Politico reported that at a January event in Washington, Mike Summers, head of the American Petroleum Institute, stated that U.S. energy companies are prepared to act as a ‘stabilizing force’ in Iran.Industry representatives noted that Iran holds more promise than Venezuela, as the latter’s oil infrastructure has deteriorated after years of neglect. Kevin Book from ClearView Energy Partners pointed out Iran’s resilience under sanctions: ‘Iran has managed to increase its production under the heaviest sanctions that the U.S. could impose. Imagine what they could achieve with Western engineering.’ <\/p>\n
Tehran’s rhetoric about oil and gas investments may be part of an effort to avert such a scenario\u2014proposing access to resources instead of the risk of forced reconstruction. According to Brew, Iranians might offer American companies access to oil and gas fields, including arrangements theoretically similar to those proposed to U.S. firms by Venezuela after Maduro’s ousting. <\/p>\n
However, significant barriers complicate any American investment, particularly the sanctions in place since the 1980s, which make cooperation between American and Iranian companies exceedingly difficult under current Iranian laws. <\/p>\n
Furthermore, the Iranian government remains deeply suspicious and likely hostile towards American firms, even if an agreement to de-escalate tensions is reached. Brew remarked, ‘Companies themselves will be very cautious about making any commitments in such an unstable and uncertain environment.’Following the Geneva meeting, an American official told Al Monitor that Tehran is expected to return with more detailed proposals within two weeks. Both sides announced cautious progress. However, Trump issued an ultimatum on February 19, adding urgency to the timeline by stating that Iran must reach a ‘meaningful agreement’ within ten days, or ‘bad things will happen.’ <\/p>\n
Negotiations resumed earlier this month in Oman, aiming for Washington to demand not only restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program but also on its ballistic missiles and connections with regional militant groups\u2014requests that Tehran opposes. After the Geneva meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that both sides had agreed on ‘guiding principles’ and now see a ‘clearer path,’ although significant differences remain. <\/p>\n
Iranian officials have also reported that Washington has not clarified what types of sanctions relief are linked to nuclear concessions and that the U.S. has refrained from offering immediate sanctions relief. Tehran is also likely seeking access to $6 billion in oil revenue blocked in Qatar.A report from ABC News on February 18 cited an American official indicating that Washington is considering the possibility of lifting financial sanctions and restrictions on Iranian oil sales. Such a move would hold substantial significance for the markets. U.S. sanctions have limited Iran’s oil exports since 2018 but have not completely eradicated them. Upon returning to office, Trump resumed his pressure campaign aimed at reducing Iran’s exports to zero, yet Iran’s shadow fleet of tankers continues to transport crude oil to customers. <\/p>\n
Iran, which was the third-largest OPEC producer last year, had an average crude oil production of about 3.3 million barrels per day in 2025, with approximately 45% allocated for export. Lifting sanctions could unleash additional production volumes, exerting downward pressure on global prices and altering trade flows\u2014particularly impacting Chinese refiners purchasing discounted Iranian crude.Iran’s economic expansion continues amid the country’s fragile internal situation under sanctions. The currency’s collapse and soaring inflation in late 2025 led to widespread protests that quickly became a threat to regime stability. <\/p>\n
Following the events of January the Iranian government has limited options to address the country’s economic crisis which sets the stage for future unrest. Despite these hardships the established power structure remains intact. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile Washington is ramping up its pressures. Axios reported on February 14 that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to collaborate in reducing Iran’s oil exports to China which accounts for over 80% of the country\u2019s crude oil sales. <\/p>\n
As of this writing diplomacy continues. However with military assets accumulating in the region and core disagreements unresolved Tehran’s efforts to propose trade agreements seem to have little chance of success. Additionally a new precedent for skepticism looms. In April 2025 Abbas Araghchi Iran’s Foreign Minister introduced the country as a ‘trillion-dollar investment opportunity’ for the U.S. amid initial negotiations for a nuclear deal. However this did not prevent American bombs from falling on Iran’s nuclear sites last June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran’s discussions on oil and gas investments may be a strategic move to avert a potential crisis, proposing access to resources rather than the risk of forced reconstruction. Analysts suggest that Iran could offer American companies access to oil and gas fields, mirroring arrangements proposed to U.S. firms by Venezuela post-Maduro’s ousting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":608,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/608"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ghodsnama.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}