TOLOnews- Iran is among the very few countries in the world that has enticed foreign investors with its untapped mineral resources, a senior Iranian industrial official said on Sunday.

According to Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, inflow of capital to the country and foreign investment is one of the main sources for financing the target growth, the chairman of the board of directors of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Mehdi Karbasian said.

The official, who is also deputy minister of industry, mine and trade, said that as a result of international engagement and the moves by Iran's Foreign Ministry for attracting foreign countries, foreign financial resources entered the country.

“For political development as well as employment, Iran needs more foreign investment, particularly by the Iranian expatriates,” he said.

“Despite the untouched mines, cheap energy, and the eagerness of the foreign investors, there are some international limitations, including pressure by the US Federal Reserve on the European banks, and insurance firms and the share-holding companies are fearful of heavy fines, so they are approaching Iran slowly,” he said.

Iran's director general of foreign investment in the ministry of industry, mine and trade, Afrooz Bahrami, said that foreign direct investment in the sector hit a new record of $3.2 billion dollars.