Russia, Iran In Talks To Sign $10 Billion Energy Deal
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Russia and Iran held talks over the weekend regarding $10 billion worth of electricity deals, reported the New York Times, seeking to establish a closer partnership to undercut the efficacy of sanctions imposed on both nations by the U.S..
Under the proposed deal, the Russians could export up to 500 megawatts of electricity to Iran and construct new thermal and hydroelectric generating plants and a transmission network.
Russia and Iran held talks over the weekend regarding $10 billion worth of electricity deals, reported the New York Times, seeking to establish a closer partnership to undercut the efficacy of sanctions imposed on both nations by the U.S..
Under the proposed deal, the Russians could export up to 500 megawatts of electricity to Iran and construct new thermal and hydroelectric generating plants and a transmission network.
According to NYT, the terms of the deal were being discussed by Iran’s energy minister Hamid Chitchian and his Russian counterpart, Alexander Novak, who was on a state visit to Iran.
Chitchian emphasised “the need for further expansion of economic ties between Tehran and Moscow, particularly in the energy and commerce spheres.”
“[Expansion of] Iran-Russia relations are not only to the benefit of the two nations, but also are beneficial to entire region,” added Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, as cited by Russia Today.
Additionally, Moscow has been in talks with Tehran to barter 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil for Russian goods. The deal, worth as much as $20 billion, has rattled Washington because it could bring Iran’s crude exports above a one-million-barrels-a-day threshold agreed in the nuclear deal between the P5+1 powers – U.S., Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – and Iran.
Related: Are International Sanctions Against Iran Counterproductive?: Gail Tverberg
Related: Will Russian Sanctions Compromise Global Energy Security?
Officials at the United States Treasury Department did not immediately respond to NYT queries on whether the Russia-Iran energy deal would technically violate the sanctions imposed on both nations.
The Iranian energy talks, which come amid mounting international pressure on Moscow over its annexation of Crimea, are a way for Russia to remind Western nations of its international clout, a Russian official told the Wall Street Journal.
