“We are ready to transit Russian gas through Iran’s territory,” Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told reporters today, according to TASS. He also emphasized that “Russia ranked first in terms of foreign investment in the country in 2023.”
In June 2024, Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), to supply Russian pipeline gas to Iran, Offshore Technology news agency reports. This would allow Iran not only to import Russian gas, but also to distribute it to neighboring countries. The MOU was formalized in Tehran, with the participation of Iran’s then-Interim President Mohammad Mokhber and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
On July 17, Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji announced, “‘We currently produce between 840 to 850 million cubic meters per day of natural gas in Iran. Under the agreement, 300 million cubic meters of gas per day will be transferred from Russia through the Caspian Sea,’ Owji said, adding that the cost of creating the necessary infrastructure would be borne by Russia,” reported Natural Gas World. Under the terms of the 30-year agreement, any surplus Russian gas not used domestically by Iran will be exported to other countries, Owji said.
