‘Iran, Russia to clinch barter deal’

Russia has “prepared all documents from its side,” a Reuters report said.

The source added that the finalization of the deal is awaiting agreement on the price of oil, which is currently being traded at around USD 100 a barrel.

If finalized, the deal would see Russia buy up to 500,000 barrels a day of Iran’s oil in exchange for equipment and goods, according to the report.

Iranian officials have not commented on the report yet.

The US State Department, however, immediately reacted to the report about the Tehran-Moscow barter trade deal.

“We have made our concerns crystal clear to both sides that if the deal were to move forward, it would raise serious concerns,” State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

She claimed such a deal would be “inconsistent with the terms” of an agreement reached between Iran and six world powers last November.

Harf said the deal “could potentially trigger US sanctions against the entity and individuals involved in any related transactions.”

Iran and the six powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany – reached an interim deal on November 24, 2013 in Geneva in efforts to fully resolve the dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.
/SR