Iran announced on Sunday the signing of a contract with Russia to supply “40 turbines” to help the country’s gas industry hit by Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, according to local media.
“The industrial successes” of Iran “are not limited to the field of missiles and drones,” said the executive director of the Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company, Reza Noushadi, quoted by the oil ministry’s news agency, Shana.
“Currently, 85% of the facilities and equipment needed by the gas industry are manufactured inside the country and taking into account this capacity, a contract was recently signed to export 40 Iranian-made turbines to Russia,” the official said. He did not specify when the contract was signed or when the turbines are expected to be delivered.
As a result of the sanctions imposed by the West after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia has reduced or interrupted its supplies to several European countries, causing energy prices to soar.
The Kremlin claims that the sanctions have prevented the maintenance of Russia’s gas infrastructure, in particular blocking the return of a Siemens turbine sent to Canada for repairs.
The West has accused Russia of using gas deliveries as a “weapon.”
According to Noushadi, the U.S. sanctions against Russia are intended to exclude Moscow from the gas market and eliminate “one of the biggest competitors” of the United States in this market.
Russia and Iran, home to some of the world’s largest gas reserves, are both under severe U.S. sanctions.
Both countries have stressed in recent months the importance of increasing their cooperation.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in mid-September that cooperation between the two countries would make them “stronger.
The Russian president visited Tehran in July where he met with President Raissi and the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also called for stronger “long-term cooperation” with Moscow.
Tehran recently denied supplying Russia with weapons used for the offensive in Ukraine, in response to accusations by Kiev and its Western allies that Moscow is using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine.
