Moscow and Tehran expect a sharp increase in trade exchange between them

Russia and Iran said Friday they expect a sharp increase in trade exchanges as a free trade agreement between the two allies is expected to come into force in May.

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivlev said at the conclusion of a Russian-Iranian government meeting on trade cooperation that the free trade agreement, which will enter into force on May 15, opens up many prospects for cooperation, and provides significant opportunities for trade exchange between our two countries.

Thanks to this agreement, which falls within the context of a broader strategic treaty concluded in January between Moscow and Tehran and ratified by Russia in early April, bilateral trade will increase severalfold, according to Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad.

The Russian Energy Minister noted that these trade volumes reached $4.8 billion in 2024, “but we believe our trade capabilities are much greater than that”.

In recent years, and especially since the Russian attack on Ukraine, relations between Russia and Iran, both of which are subject to harsh international sanctions, have witnessed rapid growth.

Russia and Iran, along with China and North Korea, are seeking to form a front against the West.

These countries have forged close ties, particularly in the military sphere, and they exchange support on several international issues.

Paknejad noted that the meeting in Moscow addressed extending the operations of Russian groups in Iranian oil and gas fields, as well as the possibility of Russian oil and gas supplies transiting through Iranian territory.

Other topics up for discussion included cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy, and the construction of new nuclear power plant complexes, the Iranian oil minister said, without providing further details.

Western countries, led by the United States, suspect that Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Tehran denies these accusations and maintains that its nuclear program is designed for civilian purposes.

The Kremlin has reiterated on more than one occasion its willingness to do whatever it can to reach a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, which has become the subject of negotiations between Tehran and Washington with Omani mediation.