Cooperation With Foreign and Regional News Agencies 

IRNA cooperates with leading international and regional news
agencies. This cooperation at the professional level started decades ago.
IRNA cooperation with regional and international agencies take any of the following forms:

1. Exclusive agency contracts
   Certain international news sources cooperate exclusively with
   IRNA in news dissemination service within Iranian territory. This
   implies that access to news items and pictorial telex services of
   other news sources is possible only through IRNA's news dissemination telex lines. News stories referred to include those of Reuters, AP, AFP, UPI and the DPA (of Germany). 
2. Bilateral cooperation  contracts
   IRNA has signed contracts for the exchange of photographs and
   news items with a number of regional new agencies. This may be taken as an unprecedented move since before the victory of the Islamic Revolution the Pars News Agency (IRNA's name before the revolution) merely cooperated with Western news agencies.
   The news agencies of Qatar (QNA), Yugoslavia (TANJUG), China (Xinhua), Japan (Kyodo), Turkey (Ikhlas), North Korea (KCNA), Saudi Arabia (SANA), Spain (EFE), Vietnam (VNA), Turkmenistan (Turkmen Press), Russia (Itar-Tass and Ria-Novesti), Morocco (MAP), Nigeria (NAM), and South Korea (YONHAP) have signed bilateral cooperation contracts regarding exchange of news and pictures with IRNA.
3. Contracts for sales of pictures and news items
   IRNA has signed cataracts for the sale of its news photos and
   information to major international news agencies. These include
   Reuters, AP, DPA, BBC and Bluemberg as well as the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA).

 Membership in International News Clubs and Organizations  

IRNA has spent tremendous efforts to convince news agencies of Third World countries to actively work within the framework of regional news  agencies. The establishment of pools of news agencies, many of which have already gained international prestige, is thus indebted to the pioneering efforts of IRNA.
Multinational and regional news pools therefore have the right to
vote in international gatherings of news agencies and thus play the essential and critical role of safeguarding Third World interests in such venues.
IRNA is currently a member of the following news pools:

1. International Islamic News Agency (IINA)
2. Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA)
3. Non-Aligned News Agencies Pool (NANAP)
4. OPEC News Agency (OPECNA)
5. Association of Caspian Sea News Agencies (ACSNA)
6. ECO News Agencies (ECONA)

IRNA's Recognized Achievements Within Regional News Pools 

IRNA has played an active role as a member of the newly established regional news pools mentioned above. Its varied activities in cooperation with these various organizations may be summarized as follows:

1. Providing vast coverage for news stories from the Islamic
   World as well as the Third World and Central Asian countries.
   IRNA has also expanded its national news dissemination ties with Islamic countries to an unprecedented level, i.e., between any Islamic country and that of other members of the Islamic world.
2. Active participation in professional, international news
   conferences, congresses and seminars, including visits to headquarters of news agencies of various countries and international news agencies by professional delegations.
3. Signing of bilateral and multilateral contracts for
   cooperation with news agencies of over 70 countries in the exchange of news, with special emphasis on its neighbors, Islamic countries and the Islamic Republic's political allies.
4. Strengthening of the foundations of the NAM Secretariat, as
   well as acceptance of permanent chairmanship of the NANAP.
5. Establishment of the Association of Caspian Sea (littoral
   states) News Agencies (ACSNA) and hosting its first gathering and initial chairmanship.
6. Active cooperation in the establishment and rotative
   chairmanship of the Economic Cooperation Organization's news
   agencies (ECONA).
7. Acceptance of the chairmanship of the Organization of
   Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) until the year 2000.