On Wednesday, Turkey and Iran signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) on expansion of cooperation in gas industry, Tehran Times reports, referring to Mehr News Agency.

According to the daily, Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz signed the MOU.

Under the MOU provisions Iranian gas will be supplied to Europe though Turkey. Masoud Mirkazemi expressed hope that the agreement will enter into force in the near future.

“Referring to the one-month deadline which has been given by Iran to Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to finalize the deal to develop phases 22, 23 and 24 of Iran's South Pars gas field, Mirkazemi said the deadline has been extended by three months.

Iran and TPAO signed an agreement in 2008 based on which the Turkish side undertook to produce 20.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas annually from three development phases of Iran's South Pars gas field, but the deal has been delayed,” the daily reads.

Monday night Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tehran on an official visit.