Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised the gas supply deal with Russia when receiving Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Tehran on September 30, the Moscow Times reported.
President Pezeshkian said the long-term gas deal signed earlier between the two countries was a "great example of cooperation" between Tehran and Moscow.
The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) and Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a 30-year deal in June to deliver Russian gas to Iran as part of a swap deal.
Under the “strategic deal,” Iran will receive 300 million cubic meters of Russian gas per day through a new pipeline that Moscow plans to build under the Caspian Sea in direct competition with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan’s plans for an east-west gas pipeline.
President Pezeshkian said the gas deal would help Iran become a "regional gas hub" that would serve the interests of both countries and promote sustainable development and economic growth.
“We believe that if important joint projects between Iran and Russia are implemented, they will create significant capabilities for both countries to offset the terrible sanctions,” the Iranian president said.
Iran has been under US sanctions over a range of issues including its nuclear programme since 2018, while Western sanctions targeted Russia after it launched a military campaign in Ukraine in 2022.
During talks in Tehran, Russian Prime Minister Mishustin discussed relations and prospects for economic cooperation with the Iranian leadership, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.
“The issues on the bilateral agenda discussed during the official visit also concern relations between Russia and Iran, determining ways to build relations in the context of the formation of a new world order, based on such structures as the BRICS group of emerging economies, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU),” Deputy Prime Minister Overchuk said on the government’s Telegram channel.
President Pezeshkian said Iran, Russia and China can counter unilateralism through international entities such as the SCO and BRICS, which Iran has joined in the past two years.
The parties again discussed the ratification of the free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Iran. The agreement is expected to come into force in 2025.
The prospect of Iran joining the EEU as an observer was also discussed during the visit.
President Pezeshkian took the opportunity to criticize Israel for "creating tensions" with its attacks on Lebanon, culminating in the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 28.
