What Iran gained from Putin’s visit


By Arwin Ghaemian

The most significant outcome of the trilateral summit in Tehran on July 19 between the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey was the formulation of a roadmap to resolve regional crises, bringing about a radical change in the world order and a subsequent decline of the United Nations. Hegemony of States in Western Asia.

The historic summit illustrated that due to Iran’s unique geopolitical position, it has become a hub for diplomatic negotiations to address regional and international crises.

Strengthening economic, military and political cooperation between the two all-time allies, Russia and Iran, was high on the summit’s agenda.

Iran and Russia have maintained strong cooperation over the past decades, and their anti-Western stance has helped develop common political-economic strategies.

It appears that a budding alliance between Tehran and Moscow to thwart US-NATO hegemony has been bolstered by the Ukrainian conflict and Western sanctions against Russia’s energy industry.

Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, it was the first time that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had traveled outside the former Soviet Union.

By choosing Tehran as a destination, Putin was explicitly signaling to his Western adversaries that Moscow was seeking to strengthen its position on the eastern front by strengthening its relations with Iran, its ally.

Revitalizing Iran’s oil and gas industry

One of Iran’s biggest gains at the trilateral conference, observers say, was the offer of a $40 billion Russian state-owned Gazprom investment deal in Iran.

Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, Gazprom will assist the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in the development of oil and gas fields and the construction of LNG pipelines.

In addition, the deal covers a $10 billion project in the Kish and North Pars gas fields in the Persian Gulf, as well as a massive $15 billion program to increase pressure in South Pars, which is the largest gas field shared by Iran and Qatar.

Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr, director of NIOC, described the memorandum as “one of the biggest foreign investments in the history of the Iranian oil industry”.

“The long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia is very beneficial for both nations” (…). There are agreements and contracts between the two countries, especially in the oil and gas sectors, which must be pursued and fully implemented,” Islamic Revolution leader Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei said in a statement. a statement, highlighting the energy cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.

Iran’s ascendancy will grow in Syria

Given that Ukraine has become an existential priority for Russia and that there is a need for Russian troops and equipment in the entrenched conflict in Ukraine, there will ultimately be a military vacuum in Syria, which Moscow does not want not that the United States fills.

At last week’s summit in Tehran, it was reported that Putin had asked Iran to maintain a military presence east of the Euphrates. This strategically key area has long been of utmost importance to Iran and its Syrian Arab Army.

According to observers, with Iran strengthening in eastern Syria amid the departure of US occupying forces, the reopening of the Iran-Iraq-Syria corridor would likely lead to Iran’s connection to the Mediterranean Sea.

In other words, if realized, this key initiative will resurrect the ancient Silk Road, which will certainly have financial benefits for all West Asian countries and the international community.

Tuesday’s historic summit came as Turkey has constantly threatened since late May to launch a full-scale military attack in northern Syria, where it seeks to create a 30-kilometre “buffer zone” on the border and to eliminate the Kurdish guerrillas of the YPG that Ankara judges as terrorists.

However, Tehran and Moscow have already expressed their vehement opposition to such an invasion.

For years, Russia had taken a relatively passive approach to frequent Turkish incursions into northeast Syria. However, with Turkey’s anti-Russian stance and the sale of Baykar Bayraktar TB2 drones to Kyiv, the Kremlin ultimately chose to pursue a tough stance towards Ankara.

During his meeting with the Iranian leader, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was again warned that any military offensive against Syrian territorial integrity would be detrimental to Turkey and the region. He was urged to resolve the crisis through diplomatic means.

Since the start of the armed insurgency in Syria in 2011, Russia and Iran have backed Syria’s democratically elected government, while Turkey backs the hardline opposition in the northern province of Idlib.

Russia and Iran: partners in dedollarization

Iran and Russia will soon sign a strategic cooperation treaty, expanding their cooperation in the banking and financial sector and abandoning the use of the dollar to denominate their trade, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview. with an Iranian TV channel, ahead of Putin’s visit to Tehran.

Nasser Kandil, a prominent Lebanese commentator, argues that the rising international economic powers known as BRICS, led by Russia, China and India, and the impending admission of Iran are a great achievement.

The BRICS will support the growth and development of independent economies and increase the volume of investment and trade by replacing the dollar and euro with their own national currencies to make US sanctions completely ineffective.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s unequivocal support for the Russian special military operation in Ukraine against vicious NATO encroachments was a clear indication to the US-led Western bloc that the Moscow-Tehran relationship is metamorphosing into a a true strategic partnership, as the war in Ukraine changes the Russian economic outlook.

Today, Moscow isolates itself from the Western market. Thus, the Kremlin considers Iran as an indispensable economic partner and seeks to use Iranian expertise to circumvent unilateral American sanctions by substituting the rial and the ruble for the dollar.

Today the Kremlin accelerated its efforts to move away from the dollar after the United States and its allies imposed unprecedented sanctions to punish Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.

Putin said he discussed the increased use of national currencies in trade with the Iranian leader.

North-South Corridor: Iran, a lifeline for the Russian economy?

In light of the fact that the Western bloc has imposed an embargo on Russian sea and air trade, Iran will be a viable channel for the passage of Russian goods, as the shortest route for Russian goods to reach major ports from the Persian Gulf east by Iranian Railway to the strategic port city of Bandar Abbas.

It is obvious that the North-South Corridor will provide huge transit revenue for the Iranian state coffer.

During the Russian President’s recent visit to Tehran and his meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, the Russian President stressed the importance of completing the Rasht-Astara railway and operating the north-south corridor.

Arwin Ghaemian is a PhD student at the University of Tehran, specializing in Iranian Qajar history. He resided in Arab countries for nearly two decades. His expertise is in modern Iranian history as well as socio-economic and security issues in the Middle East.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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