Iran has closed down 278 rural credit cooperatives to prevent financial abuse and counterfeiting in these structures.

Both Europeans and the Asians expect the special financial mechanism to be determined between Iran and the EU in connection with foreign investments in the Iranian petrochemical industry, Hossein Ali-Morad, head of the investment department of Iran's National Petrochemical Industry Company, said.

Iran's economy is completely dependent on foreign countries and imports exceed the exports in the country's foreign trade balance, an expert in economics Mehdi Naimi told Trend.

The Iranian parliament will discuss the issue of raising a $5 billion loan from Russia, Mohammad Mehdi Mofatteh, a rapporteur of the parliament’s ad-hoc budget review committee, told reporters.

More serious discussions should be held to explore the future of relations between Iran and Europe’s leading countries, Head of Iran’s Foreign Policy Strategic Council Kamal Kharrazi said, Trend reports via IRNA.

Iranian standards are tougher by seven times than the European ones, Iranian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Abbas Keshavarz said.

If Iran benefits from the opportunities of the Eurasian market by regulating a program in a short time, conditions may be created for the opportunities drawing attention of the Iranian businessmen, Fatemeh Moghimi, chairperson of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with ISNA, Trend reports.

Iran plans to transfer water from Caspian Sea to solve its water shortage problem, while the country's Department of Environment is reviewing the studies to decide the volume of water transfer.

Iran’s Payam satellite failed to reach orbit, the minister of communications and information technologies has said.

Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri will visit Baku on Jan. 16 at the invitation of the Azerbaijani Defense Minister Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov, accompanied by a high-ranking military delegation, the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan told Trend on Jan. 15.