Russia Says Regional Free Trade Pact With Iran Possible Soon
A free trade zone deal between Iran, Russia and several countries in the vast Eurasian region is possible by the end of the year, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Monday.
A free trade zone deal between Iran, Russia and several countries in the vast Eurasian region is possible by the end of the year, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Monday.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk told the state TASS agency that talks between the Eurasian Economic Union - which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia - and Iran are in their final stages.
"We are moving forward," Overchuk said. "We very much hope that such an agreement can be signed by the end of the year."
Both the region and Iran have taken on additional significance for the Kremlin after Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion in Ukraine limited Russia's foreign trade routes and forced it to look for markets outside Europe.
However, despite tighter ties between Moscow and Tehran since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and began big purchases of Iranian-made drones to attack the country, trade between the two markets have grown only moderately.
Russian-Iranian commodity turnover rose 20% in 2022, according to government data, but the monetary value of bilateral annual trade was less than $5 billion, negligible by international standards.
The regional agreement with Iran would replace and expand an interim pact that already provides a reduction in customs duties on hundreds of categories of goods.
In November 2022, Russia started swapping oil products with Iran and in March, Tehran said it counts on "huge volumes" of both oil and gas swaps with Moscow.
Overchuk also told TASS, without providing much detail, that negotiations among the Eurasian Economic Union countries on creating a common gas market continue.
Reporting by Reuters
Confidential letters published by the group Uprising till Overthrow revealed that the regime officials are aware their support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine may lead to criminal cases against Tehran for its involvement in the war.
Referring to the annulment of at least five agreements between Iran and Ukraine over the issue, the documents pointed out that Kiev has also sanctioned a large number of Iranian officials and also rejected calls for negotiations by the Islamic Republic.
The point that comes across in the hacked letters by General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the foreign ministry sent to the president’s office is that they know very little about the military cooperation with Moscow, suggesting that it is handled by the Revolutionary Guards, most probably with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Rolling with the punches, the organizations offered a number of suggestions to compensate for the “loss of dignity” by making demands from the Russian government.
In the documents, the General Staff asked the government not to deny Iran’s involvement in the war and its supply of drones to Moscow because the European and other Western countries are evidently sure about the military support.
Among the ways to dampen the effects of Iran’s support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine is holding talks with Kyiv officials to keep the channel of interaction open between the two countries.
The correspondence with the president’s office shows the regime’s concerns over the Ukrainian government downgrading relations with the Islamic Republic, calling for planning for such a scenario through preparing the regime’s embassy in Moldova to handle consular matters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the diplomatic missions of the regime in European countries should become more active so that they can be aware of the possible plans of European countries for any possible legal action against Iran, implying that they are aware that regime officials can be prosecuted for their involvement in the war.
Noting that 37 countries have filed lawsuits against Russia at the International Criminal Court, the ministry said that such a lawsuit can also be filed against the Islamic Republic.
The hacktivist group ‘Uprising till Overthrow -- affiliated with the Albania-based opposition Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) group -- produced documents in May showing that it breached 120 servers of the presidential office, getting access to internal communications, meetings minutes, President Ebrahim Raisi’s online conference platforms and about 1,300 computers inside the offices. The MEK-affiliated group has been releasing the documents on its social media accounts.
Iran has repeatedly denied sending armed drones to Russia after Moscow launched its invasion in February 2022, claiming that any shipments occurred before the war.
However, Russia has used hundreds of Iranian-made drones to attack Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets, with Kyiv reporting more supplies in December as Moscow’s stocks were used up.
Western powers have strongly objected to Iran's decision to arm Russia with Kamikaze drones, and possibly other weapons and ammunition.
Ahmad Alirezabeigi told Rouydad24 news website in Tehran that his access to his microphone at the parliament (Majles) was cut off even before the legislature’s supervisory board attended to his case. He added: "The Speaker of the parliament read out the verdict against me before it was issued by the board!"
On Sunday some unconfirmed reports emerged that the ban has been lifted, but he has still not been observed speaking in the parliament.
Iranian authorities have confirmed that some 300 SUVs were given to the Majles at a highly discounted price ahead of a proposed impeachment of the minister of industry in 2022, but Alirezabeigi says still 153 are unaccounted for and no one knows who took delivery of those vehicles.
Alirezabeigi further added that barring lawmakers from addressing the parliament is not part of the Majles Supervisory Board's authority, and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has imposed the ban arbitrarily. He said lawmakers are entitled to challenge any verdict by the board, but he cannot do anything at the time being as the verdict has not been officially announced.
The lawmaker says he was also called to a court of justice in May to respond to questions, but he was told that there are no charges against him as no one has filed a complaint about the matter.
"I found out later that the minister in question has sent a letter about the issue to the Iranian judiciary, but he had not even named me in that letter," Alirezabeigi said, adding that "by barring me from speaking at the Majles, the authorities have deprived the people in my constituency of their voice being heard."
Meanwhile, an outspoken former lawmaker, Gholamali Jafarzadeh Imanabadi has likened the lawmaker's punishment to the shelling of the parliament by anti-constitutionalists at the beginning of the 20th century. Imanabadi further charged: "The Majles is no longer the House of the People. It is a place where the presidium dictates whatever it deems right."
He explained that giving the SUVs to lawmakers at a discounted price is a concession they should have not accepted. He said although they have paid for the cars, but they ignore the fact that the vehicles are worth much more in the market and not everyone can get those cars at the price they think they have purchased it. "Would they sell the cars to you at such a discounted price if you were not members of parliament? Certainly no!"
He emphasized that the parliament should have not been allowed to bar a representative of the people from speaking. The Majles has pretty much cut off the voice of all those who had voted for this representative.
Imanabadi said the presidium of the Majles should have taken action about the bribery instead of barring the lawmaker from speaking about corruption. Citind parliament’s by-laws he said, “You cannot bar a lawmaker from speaking even if what he says is tantamount to libel.” Instead, anyone who believes has been offended will be given time to defend or explain.
Imanabadi said: "It is surprising that the other lawmakers are silent about this matter. This could have happened to any one of them." He added that according to a former speaker of the Majles, Mehdi Karroubi, cutting off a lawmaker's microphone “is a sign of despotism."
Imanabadi further suggested that Alirezabeigi should resign in protest.
