Hamidreza Araghi told a press conference on Monday that if Iran does not play a crucial role in the international gas market, it does not mean that the country is behind other major gas produces because Iran has a massive domestic demand for the item while other countries like Qatar do not.

He also touched on gas exports to Georgian, saying: "Georgia should receive gas from Armenia and Russia, and the gas we send to Armenia should turn into electricity and we will sell it to Georgia, whose procedure is under way and talks are being held in this regard."

Asked about Russia's gas export to Kuwait, Araghi said: "I do not have any detailed information on this issue, but Russia, if it wants to sell natural gas to Kuwait, has no way but passing through Iran".

He further said that Arab countries see gas from Iran desirable, adding, "We have had good talks with Kuwait over the last few years, and they need our gas".

The NIGC director further said: "Due to the political relations of the two countries in the future, this will happen, but unfortunately, when the talks took place, there were events that darkened the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia and cut off our communication bridge. Negotiations will continue as soon as this relationship is established, because Arab countries, although they consider gas to be desirable from Iran, may not dare or be able to sign a deal with Iran due to political climate."

He added: "In the future, we must export 50 million cubic meters of gas to Iraq, but now we are exporting 8-10 million cubic meters of gas a day to Iraq."