TEHRAN (Iran News) –Iran’s top security chief says Tehran and Moscow are strengthening their economic cooperation in line with strategic agreements through constant efforts and a firm determination.
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said on Tuesday it is important that Iran and Russia play a complementary role in the global energy and transit markets.
He made the remarks in a meeting with the Russian president’s aide, Igor Levitin, in Tehran.
He also highlighted the importance of accelerating the implementation of joint economic projects within the framework of the agreements reached between the two countries’ presidents.
According to Shamkhani, the U.S.-led unilateral sanctions hinder the expansion of relations between countries and escalate regional and global crises.
He called for the formation of joint bodies to counter the restrictive measures. The targeted countries should make use of the international potential to counter the sanctions, he said.
Levitin, for his part, pointed to the strategic impact of completing the North-South railway project, saying it is a top priority for Moscow to quickly start the operational measures related to the completion of the Rasht-Astara railway.
He said that Iran enjoys great capacities in the energy and transit sectors, and Russian firms are keen to invest in Iran’s infrastructural projects.
The Russian official also referred to the two countries’ agreements to develop trade relations using national currencies, saying the two countries’ economic and banking officials have adopted the necessary mechanisms to evade the sanctions.
Tehran and Moscow would soon witness a serious leap in trade relations, Levitin added.
Meanwhile Russia and Iran are exploring the development of a joint stablecoin that would be backed by gold, two Russian officials have been quoted as saying.
According to Alexander Brazhnikov, the Central Bank of Iran is considering the creation of a stablecoin with Russia as a means of payment in transactions involving international trade, local Russian news outlet Vedomosti wrote.
Iran is working to create a “token of the Persian Gulf region” that would serve as a payment method in foreign trade, it said.
The stablecoin aims to enable cross-border transactions instead of fiat currencies like the United States dollar, the Russian ruble or the Iranian rial.
Brazhnikov, who is the executive director of the Russian Association of the crypto industry and blockchain, said the coin’s value would be tied to gold.
Vedomosti said the stablecoin would be usable in Astrakhan, a free-trade zone where Russia has started accepting Iranian merchandise.
Anton Tkachev, a member of the Duma and the Committee on Information Policy, Information Technology, and Communications, confirmed the report, but said the issue would be considered at the governmental level after cryptocurrencies are completely regulated in Russia.
The Russian Central Bank does not support the usage of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ethereum as a method of payment anywhere inside the nation, but it allows for the usage of cryptocurrencies in business dealings, including international trade.
