In 2024, Russia will officially surpass China and other major rivals to become the largest foreign investor in Iran - a country that is under heavy sanctions but has great potential for energy.
The information was announced by Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali on June 5.
In 2024, Russia will be the largest foreign investor in Iran, Jalali stressed in a statement from the Embassy.
According to Ambassador Jalali, the total value of Russia's investment in gas projects in Iranian territory is up to 8 billion USD, of which 5 billion USD is included in a specific commitment. The remaining part is being implemented by both sides.
Previously, in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, Russia also led the FDI inflows into Iran with 2.76 billion USD out of a total of 4.2 billion USD of foreign direct investment.
Also in January 2025, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev confirmed that the two countries had agreed a roadmap to build a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran via Azerbaijan, with initial gas volumes could reach 2 billion m3/year, and the potential to expand to 55 billion m3/year, equivalent to nearly a third of Russia's total annual gas exports before the Ukraine conflict.
In April 2025, Mr. Jalali affirmed that Iran had completed 90% of the infrastructure needed to transit Russian gas through its territory.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak previously revealed that Russia and Iran are discussing with Qatar and Turkmenistan the establishment of a regional energy center and the implementation of gas exchanges, building an electronic trading floor in southern Iran, towards a new energy alliance not dependent on the West.
According to Ambassador Jalali, Russia-Iran relations have reached the level of strategic partnership, with high-level visits continuously taking place. Tehran is waiting for the next visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the two sides were preparing for the visit, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the specific schedule was still agreed upon.
President Putin has made five trips to Iran, most recently in July 2022 when attending the Astana negotiations on Syria. The visits are all working-class and demonstrate the special importance of Tehran in Moscow's " rotating the Asia- Europe" strategy.
