Iran has put forward an option to export natural gas to Europe which can include surplus production from Qatar.
Mohsen Jalalpour, the president of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, told reporters Iran can receive Qatari gas and transit it to Turkey for conduit to Europe, Press TV reported.
"In case Iran is able to come to a deal with Qatar and Turkey over this, there will be a significant profit for Iran and Turkey [for transiting the gas]," Jalalpour said.
"Nevertheless, there are still certain political obstacles to this as well as some oppositions that we hope …. would be resolved."
Iran's huge natural gas reserves had for years made it a prime source for future supplies to Europe.
Accordingly, separate discussions were initiated with Iran by a consortium named Nabucco as well as the Swiss EGL. However, the complications that later emerged — specifically the US-engineered sanctions — sidelined Iran from their plans to pipe gas to Europe.
The prospects that sanctions could be eventually removed in light of the recent diplomatic progress over the Iranian nuclear energy program once again put Iran in focus.
Officials from Nabucco and EGL have raised the prospects of reviving plans to take Iran's gas to Europe once the sanctions against the country are lifted.
There has even been a new scheme raised by Azerbaijan to take Iran's gas to Europe via the 1,850-kilometer Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) which is projected to pump gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 field in the Caspian Sea to Turkey and thence to Europe.