According to the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) which reported on Dec. 27, the central banks of Iran and Russia have completed an agreement to trade in their own local currencies, bypassing the role of the U.S dollar completely. This move is the latest in a series of growing cooperative agreements between the two countries, and the BRICS more broadly—which Iran was invited to join as of Jan. 1, 2024. Russia and Iran had also signed a comprehensive strategic partnership last spring.
Iran’s Central Bank Governor Mohammad-Reza Farzin brought up using Russia’s presidency of the BRICS in 2024 as an opportunity for increased transactions of national currencies of this sort, to which the Bank of Russia Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina agreed.
