Iran, Russia Discuss Bilateral "Strategic Relations"

Iran's Acting President Mohammad Mokhber has stressed the impact of strong relations with Russia on global developments.

"Today, the strategic and deep relations between Iran and Russia have changed global power equations and challenged the unjust order based on unilateralism," Mokhber told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 4, according to ISNA news agency.

Referring to the expanding bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic, commercial, transport and energy sectors, the Iranian president emphasized the need to accelerate the completion of the legal foundations for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Mokhber also conveyed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's message to Putin, saying that Tehran-Moscow relations “would remain unchanged after a new government takes office” following the July 5 snap presidential election.

For his part, Putin described the relationship between the two countries as "friendly, unbreakable and unchangeable".

Expressing satisfaction with the increased level of cooperation between the two countries, Putin said, “trade relations between Iran and Russia decreased last year, but fortunately, the volume of trade has increased by 14%, this year”.

He considered the signing of a free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Union as an important step towards further developing cooperation and a suitable framework for more beneficial interactions with the union’s member countries.

The Russian president also highlighted the common positions of the two countries on regional and international issues, including efforts to shape a "multipolar world", and reiterated Russia's support for Iran's proposal to join the Eurasian Economic Union as an observer.

In addition, the two leaders discussed strengthening free trade with the Eurasian Union, pursuing and implementing the North-South transport corridor – a multi-mode network of ship, rail and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe – and enhancing bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, including oil and gas.

On June 26, Russia’s energy giant Gazprom and the National Iranian Gas Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the transfer of Russian gas to Iran. The agreement will enable Iran to import gas from Russia and supply it at a higher price to Iraq, Türkiye, and Pakistan.

Russia and Iran jointly account for more than 40% of global gas reserves. Russia has faced an oversupply of natural gas since early 2022 due to sanctions affecting its exports to Europe following the war in Ukraine. Iran, the world’s third-largest gas producer after the United States and Russia, also exports gas via pipelines to Türkiye and Iraq.

Iran officially joined the SCO in July 2023, becoming the group’s ninth permanent member. In a July 4 address to the SCO, the Iranian acting president voiced his country's support for removing the dollar from transactions among member states.

Earlier, speaking at the Financial Congress of the Bank of Russia in St. Petersburg, Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mohammad Reza Farzin had criticized the "political approach" of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) with Iran and Russia.

He noted that Tehran was "ready to use all its capabilities" to help Russia with the creation of a new financial transaction system to be used by BRICS members that would allow local currencies instead of the dollar.

The official added that if local currencies were used in the exchanges between Russia, Iran, China and other countries, a big obstacle to trade would be removed between Iran and Russia.