TEHRAN The newspaper ****Al-Zaman*** wrote on Monday, "Iraq has invited U.S. and British companies to invest in the free trade zones of Iraq."

The U.S. and Britain cut economic and trade relations with Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

*** Al-Zaman *** quoted the investment manager of the Iraqi free trade zones, Atef Abd al-Haleq, as saying, "The goods which are imported to these regions are free of customs charges and tax. The businessmen can store their goods in these regions and then export them to other parts of the world."

He noted that Iraq has received many investment proposals from foreign companies.

According to *** Al-Zaman *****, Israel is the only country which Iraq is barring from investing in its free trade zones.