Iran Halts Housing Projects in Venezuela and Iraq Due to 'Payment Issues'

The head of the Tehran Builders Association stated that Iranian construction projects in Venezuela and Iraq have been halted due to payment-related issues. Iraj Rahbar said on Wednesday, July 25, that Iran began housing projects in Venezuela during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency, constructing a total of 10,000 housing units, but currently, dollar payments have stopped. He added that Venezuela pays costs in its own currency, and Iranian companies must convert this money to dollars in Venezuela, which is not economically viable, leading to a halt in housing projects. Venezuela's insistence on paying for Iranian housing construction comes at a time when the country is grappling with rampant inflation and a severe decline in the value of its national currency; for instance, the dollar rate has quadrupled against the bolivar over the past two years. Rahbar further mentioned that in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, Iranian companies have not received payments, and excuses were made for paying Iranian contractors, ultimately leading to Iranian companies facing non-receipt of payments and sometimes abandoning their machinery. He did not clarify how, under U.S. sanctions and being on the FATF blacklist, Iran expects to receive U.S. dollars from construction projects in Iraq or Venezuela. The head of the Tehran Builders Association claimed that Iraq and Venezuela are 'exploiting Iran's position' and noted that while the price offered to Chinese companies in Sulaymaniyah during the ninth and tenth administrations was $350 to $400 per square meter, the price now quoted to Iranian companies is $250 per square meter, which is not economically viable, indicating that these countries are indeed taking advantage of Iran's position. His remarks come amid a downturn in the market for Iranian builders abroad, while a report from the Turkish Builders Association in September shows that construction companies in Turkey have executed an average of about $23 billion in projects abroad annually over the past decade. Last year, Turkish companies executed $28 billion in construction projects abroad, including $4.6 billion in Russia, $3.6 billion in Romania, $3.4 billion in Turkmenistan, $2.9 billion in Saudi Arabia, $1.5 billion in Libya, $1.3 billion in Iraq, and the rest in countries like Spain, Azerbaijan, Vietnam, Kuwait, etc.