Tehran and Moscow announced their plan to use national currencies instead of the US dollar in trade transactions.
According to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, Central Bank Governor Salihabadi stated that during his meetings with Russian officials, the two countries took essential steps to improve their relations in the fields of finance and banking. “The use of national currencies was one of the important axes of consultation in the talks with the Russian authorities, and we will soon see the implementation of the agreements reached,” Salihi said. Salihabadi stated that the agreements reached to facilitate trade relations with Russia during his visit to Moscow would be implemented shortly, and positive results would be felt in both countries.Salihabadi, who went to Russia with his delegation for a two-day visit, met with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak.
During the meeting, an agreement was reached to develop banking cooperation between the Central Banks of the two countries. Iran has been subject to unilateral sanctions by the United States since 2018, while Russia was the target of international sanctions after the war against Ukraine in February.