Iran has closed two deals with Moscow to facilitate its imports from Russia, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported on 27 December 2023.

The deals, a letter of credit (L/C) transaction and the establishment of a line of credit, were closed during a visit to Moscow by Iran's central bank chief, Mohammad Reza Farzin.

First Iranian L/C abroad

In the first agreement, Iran's Bank Sepah initiated a EUR 17 million (US$19 million) L/C to secure payments for imports from Russia, although the specific goods or parties involved were not disclosed by IRNA.

This marks Iran's first L/C conducted by its banking network abroad since the re-imposition of sanctions by Washington in May 2018, following Tehran's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Credit line

The second deal involved Russia's Sberbank and Iran's Bank Melli. They agreed to establish a 6.5-billion-rouble (US$71 million) line of credit.

This credit line is intended to support Iran's importation of essential goods from Russia.

Moving closer

Farzin led a technical delegation to Moscow in December for discussions on expanding monetary and banking cooperation, aiming to strengthen ties with Russia under a free trade agreement signed by Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The member states of the EAEU formally signed a free trade agreement with Iran on 25 December 2023 during a meeting in Saint Petersburg.

Separately, on 27 December, Farzin met with his Russian counterpart, Elvira Nabiullina, and finalised an agreement to utilise their national currencies, the Iranian rial and the Russian rouble, in bilateral trade instead of the US dollar.

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