Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh announced Sunday that Iran is to begin legal proceedings against Pakistan in a protracted gas pipeline project.

Iran has laid the pipeline upto Pakistan's border, but Pakistan has neglected to take due measure on its soil, Zangeneh said at a press briefing. So the Petroleum Ministry is to take the issue to the court, he added.

About Tehran-Ashkhabad gas dispute, the minister said Iran did not import gas after Turkmenistan cut off its imports and claimed for 1.8-billion-dollar in arrears from Iran.

The two sides did some swap after cutting-off measure, Zangeneh said adding Turkmenistan wants to settle the gas dispute through international courts while Iran believes that Ashkhabad should make up for the losses.

The dispute started between Iran and Turkmenistan over gas imports when Ashkhabad, despite its previous agreements with Tehran, demanded for illogical high prices for its exported gas to Iran's northern regions.

On December 30, 2016, Iranian representatives who were in Turkmenistan for talks over the dispute were told by Tehran to leave the negotiations warning their Turkmen counterparts that Tehran will not accept anything beyond the previously made bilateral agreements.

The minister also said the production and export of the Iranian oil grew after the July 2015 nuclear deal. He also rejected claims about a barter deal between Iran and Russia to exchange oil for advanced fighter jets.

Turning to the issue of gasoline, Zangeneh said Iran produced 16.5 million liters of the product, which shows an increase from the past Iranian calendar year ended on March 20, 2017, most from the Persian Gulf Star Refinery (PGSR) this year.