An earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale jolted some areas in the vicinity of the port city of Bandar Abbas in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan on Wednesday.

Japanese oil refiners Cosmo Oil Co and Japan Energy Corp. have started paying Iran for crude oil imports in yen instead of dollars, company spokesmen said Tuesday.

According to statements made Sept. 27 by the Turkish Minister of Energy Hilmi Guler, Ankara and Tehran plan to sign an accord this month on the exploitation of the natural gas reserves of South Pars on the southern Iranian coast.