Oil-for-Goods Exchange Agreement: Is Moscow Telling the Truth or Tehran?

Radio Farda - Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Iran's Minister of Oil, once again denied the conclusion of an agreement between Tehran and Moscow regarding the exchange of oil for goods. Reza Valizadeh has asked Fereydoun Khavand which side is telling the truth? In an interview with Reza Valizadeh, Fereydoun Khavand discusses the contradictory statements from Iran and Russia about the barter agreement. For about thirteen months, the Russians have claimed that they have reached an agreement with Iran regarding an oil-for-goods exchange, while the Iranians deny the existence of such an agreement. In fact, it was last January that senior Russian officials announced a barter deal between the two countries, claiming that Iran would export 500,000 barrels of oil daily to Russia in exchange for goods and equipment. It was even said that this barter deal could lead to an $18 billion exchange between the two countries. Russia's claim about the existence of such an agreement was met with a firm denial from Mr. Zangeneh, and subsequent repetitions of the same claim were immediately denied by Iran's Minister of Oil. Currently, after the Lausanne nuclear agreement and Russia's readiness to deliver S-300 missiles to Tehran, the Russians have once again brought up the barter agreement, and this news has also been reflected in Western media. This time, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, in response to reporters' insistence, stated, according to ISNA news agency, 'I have not signed anything for the barter of oil and goods.' In this game of insistence and denial, the denial by Iran's Minister of Oil seems more logical. Why do you think so? What reasons make Mr. Zangeneh's denial more credible compared to the Russians' insistence on the existence of a barter agreement between the two countries? The Russians' insistence on the existence of a barter agreement with Iran seems understandable; because after the Lausanne agreement, and considering the favorable conditions for reaching a final agreement on the nuclear file and lifting sanctions against Iran, Moscow wants to emphasize its very close relations with Tehran and, as always, use these relations as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the West. But the question arises as to why Iran should deliver oil to Russia, one of the most important producers and exporters of black gold, especially when the oil market is in severe recession and Russia is struggling to sell its own oil. What can Moscow do with Iranian oil? What position can Russia hold in Iran's international economic relations? There are many areas of cooperation in the relations between the two countries. However, Russia is primarily a competitor of Iran as an oil and gas exporting country. One of Russia's foreign policy priorities is to prevent Iran from accessing the European gas market. This significant suspicion inevitably weighs on Tehran-Moscow relations.