The lifting of anti-Iran sanctions which began in January 2016 motivated activities by international companies seeking to benefit from the country's lucrative energy market.
The Islamic Republic, which has the world's second largest gas reserves and the fourth-biggest petroleum reserves, has offered attractive investment opportunities in the energy sector following the removal of sanctions — as part of the 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers.
Top Iranian hotels have, over the past year, been teeming with foreign delegations including Europeans seeking to boost or resume ties in the oil and gas sectors with their Iranian counterparts.
However, Washington's hostile policies have hindered efforts by American companies to take advantage of Iran's huge investment potentials.
An economic expert believes US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who served as the chief of ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, is not willing to deprive US companies from huge investment opportunities in Iran despite political pressures.
Abdollah Younes Ara cited Tillerson's comments in 2016 when he said ExxonMobil would monitor the situation to find out whether US companies could benefit from opportunities in Iran in the wake of the removal of sanctions.
He said Tillerson is interested in boosting America's investment in the oil industry across the world.
The United States has imposed fresh sanctions against Iran under President Donald Trump which make it difficult for US firms to deal with their Iranian counterparts.
A few days ago, the Senate voted nearly unanimously to impose new sanctions on Iran and Russia.
The anti-Iran embargoes follow two sets of sanctions that were rolled out in February and May by the US Treasury Department.
Younes Ara said US sanctions were unlikely to affect Iran's oil sector citing the continued growth of the oil industry under President Hassan Rouhani.
He said Rouhani's reelection has assured foreign investors that they can cement ties with Iranian companies and boost investments.
The experts also touched upon US sanctions against Russia saying such penalties indicate a sort of confrontation between the Trump government and his opponents.
He said the Senate will push Trump to comply with the sanctions.
Anti-Russia sanctions come amid claims by US intelligence agencies that Russia sought to tilt the 2016 election in Trump's favor by hacking and leaking Democratic emails.