Foreign Investment

Foreign investment contracts are one of the major ways to absorb the technology in the oil and gas industry. Studies show that governments and investing companies prefer to gain more profit, control economic resources and political influence by investing financially and technically in developing countries unless buying foreign technology and intellectual property rights directly. On the other hand, for developing countries, the sum of foreign capital and technology within a contract is a great opportunity for advancement, provided that the choice of technology transfer is made with due regard to the country's needs, requirements and economic future. In this article, after examining the relationship between investment and technology transfer and its various methods in the oil and gas industry, we will analyze the constraints and barriers of technology transfer through foreign investment in developing countries (including Iranian law) and provide a solution. Keywords: Foreign Investment, Technology Transfer, Oil & Gas Industry, Mutual Trade, Intellectual Property Rights.

Sociological analysis of the foreign investment process in Iran during the pre and post Islamic Revolution periods has undergone many fluctuations. Foreign investment in Iran was under the influence of political fluctuations, and attempts have been undertaken in each period to create a safe environment for attracting foreign capital by resorting to various compilations. What sets Islam as a privileged and outstanding religion at any given time is that it considers all aspects of life and, principally, has put all parts of human life in the path of true evolution with its original special laws. The basic role of jurisprudence in relation to the economy and the appropriate solutions for regulating economic relations and the formulation of a standard in the economic regulations has been highlighted in the foreign investment affairs, the use of rules, regulations, and principles of the law in the conflict of individual and social interests. After the Islamic Revolution, foreign investment, with emphasis on jurisprudential and Islamic foundations, brought about tremendous changes in the field of Iranian-Islamic urban spaces.

Iraq, as Iran's western neighbor, has the appropriate and potential capacity for regional interaction and cooperation. Accordingly, intelligent and planned interaction with this country can be important for the production of wealth, power and national security of Iran. Being aware of this, regional powers are also investing in Iraq ostensibly to rebuild the country, but in practice with political motives, and this could pose a threat to Iran. The present study seeks to answer the main question: What effect does the investment of regional powers in the reconstruction of post-ISIS Iraq, which is done in the shadow of the passivity of Iran's economic presence in this country, have on Iran's national security? The study claims that the investment of regional powers in Iraq, which leads to an increase in the influence of these powers and a change in Iraqi policies and orientations in the shadow of Iran's economic passivity in this country, increases Iran's national security threats in economic, political, social, military and environmental fields. The present study tries to investigate the subject with a descriptive-analytical method.

In the 2000s, some projects were defined to export Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in order to increase Iran’s presence in gas export markets. However, despite the initial planning until 2020, when this research was conducted, none led to a result, and Iran could not play a role in this market. Delay in executing these plans will lead to losing the opportunity to use the joint South Pars field and billions of dollars of foreign exchange earnings. The purpose of this study, which was conducted 2019 to 2020, is to identify the factors leading to the failure of Iran’s LNG projects. In order to identify and prioritize these factors, the opinion of experts and the Fuzzy Delphi technique is employed. Investigating the condition at the national and international level indicates that some factors have prevented all of these projects from being successful, including political issues, international sanctions on Iran, lack of domestic capital, lack of appropriate foundation for attracting foreign investors, constraints of domestic rules and regulations, especially in the upstream sector for choosing the contract format, not having access to the liquefaction technology, and the issues pertinent to marketing, and the most important one, lack of suitable commercial structural design. Identifying these factors and planning for tackling them is the key to escaping this current situation and a guide for prospering in future projects of the country.

American sanctions against Iran are one of the most extensive in terms of variety and extent . The most approved sanctions are unilateral against a country. While unilateral economic sanctions in an extraterritorial manner are considered a violation of the sovereignty of other countries in this regard.This research is done through analytical-descriptive methodGiri has studied the legal analysis of Iran's foreign investment embargo by the United States of America based on reliable research documents and international law jurisprudence. The findings of the research show that the restrictions caused by the unilateral US sanctions against Iran and the increase in investment costs can be considered as a serious obstacle to foreign investment in Iran. However, in 1991, the United Nations General Assembly strongly urged governments to end unilateral pressures. Also in the another one in 1996 called for the removal of such practices under the title "Elimination of economic pressure measures as a means of political and economic coercion".The American side in sanctioning Iran violates the principle of peaceful coexistence among governments, which requires respect for the political principles of international law, i.e. the legal equality of governments, non-interference, cooperation and friendship, respect for the independence and territorial integrity of governments among the members of the international community. This type of actions lacks legal and international validity due to the lack of legitimacy.