Iran and Russia sign deals on deepening economic cooperation

Iran and Russia are deepening their economic cooperation, as representatives of both countries signed four declarations of intent on Tuesday, Iranian state media and the Russian government reported.
Cooperation is to be expanded in the energy sector in particular. Accordingly, Iran hopes for investments in the country's own oil and gas industry, which has been hit by international sanctions.
According to the reports, the introduction of the Russian payment system Mir was also discussed further. Due to international sanctions, Iran and Russia are largely excluded from international payments. Businessmen often have to bring large sums of cash to invest in Iran.
After the invasion of Ukraine, the West imposed sanctions on Russia in the financial sector, among other things. Many financial institutions were excluded from the bank communication network SWIFT.
The world's largest credit card operators Visa and Mastercard suspended their Russian business. Iran is also affected after the country was hit by sanctions in the dispute over its nuclear programme.
Iran is also reportedly supporting Russia in the war in Ukraine. According to the report, the Islamic Republic delivered hundreds of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. Tehran denies the deliveries.