The Financial Times, however, said its reporter at the show scoured all exhibition sites and was unable to find any American companies.
First Vice President Mo-hammad-Reza Rahimi opened the exhibit and proudly proclaimed that US firms had defied sanctions to exhibit. He did not name any of the firms, however. He urged the Oil Ministry to award contracts to those US firms to show Iran’s appreciation.
But the Financial Times said it was unable to find any American brands or any firm that might be seen as a front for the American firms at the exhibition.
The newspaper commented: “Oil analysts believe the claims of US attendance, whether or not a bluff, are an illustration of the country’s desperation for Western investment and technology to develop and maintain its oil and gas fields.”
Presence at the exhibition doesn’t necessarily indicate an interest in signing contracts at this time. European firms such as Total of France and Statoil of Norway, both of which have announced they will sign no new contracts with Iran until the nuclear issue is resolved, had booths at the exhibition. Royal Dutch Shell, which has had a booth in past years, was a notable absentee. Many of the firms at the exhibition were just trying to keep up their contacts, looking forward to a change in the political scene eventually.
The Islamic Republic commonly tries to tell its public that the world is eager to do business with Iran and uses examples such as the exhibition as “proof.” Some years ago, officials of the national oil company said American firms had picked up tender packets and cited that as proof that US firms would be bidding for contracts. But the firms picked up the packets because they wanted to know what Iran was offering under what conditions. They had no intention of bidding since they would be prosecuted in the United States if they signed any contracts.
