Managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company says international companies are ready to work with Iran based on the Iran Petroleum Contract.

The body of a senior Iranian diplomat who was missing since the Hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia will be returned home on Saturday. Ghazanfar Roknabadi’s body has been identified by his family and also through DNA tests. Iranian Hajj officials say Saudi officials had buried the body soon after the deadly incident. At least 465 Iranian citizens died on September 24, after organizers blocked two main streets in Mina, on the outskirts of the Holy City of Mecca. Saudi Arabia has put the death toll at nearly 770, but reports point to figures as high as 4000.

An official at the National Iranian Oil Company says the latest estimate show Iran's hydrocarbon reserves have increased by one billion barrels.

An Iranian deputy oil minister says the country is planning to launch phases 15 and 16 of the huge South Pars gas field in early November.

An Iranian deputy oil minister denies reports that a Chinese company has filed a lawsuit against the National Iranian Oil Company over development of an Iranian oil field.

Managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company says Tehran will not raise oil production until sanctions imposed on the country are removed.

The International Energy Agency says imports of Iranian crude by other countries have reached their highest since sanctions were imposed on Tehran.