Easing sanctions on Iran are already driving up Iran’s petrochemical sales to Asia, a top Iranian oil official said Thursday. The news is the latest sign that an interim nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran is giving a breather to Iran’s battered economy. “We have [made] some progress” in selling petrochemicals to Asia. Petrochemicals are one of the country’s main sources of exports revenue after crude oil, Mohammad-Hossein Peyvandi, the deputy head of the state-owned National Iranian Petrochemical Co., said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. As part of the nuclear deal, the U.S. suspended sanctions on 14 major Iranian petrochemical companies, making it less risky both politically and legally for Asian buyers to purchase their products. Still, Mr. Peyvandi said the domestic industry could further benefit from the return of European Union companies—which are still banned from providing technology to Iran. The official said […]