Iran oil sanctions
© AP Photo / Iranian Presidency Office
Ahead of the new wave of anti-Iranian sanctions, bound to come in force in November and impact the Islamic Republic's oil exports, the Israeli outlet Maco has reported about an alleged secret agreement between Moscow and Teheran. Russia is reportedly planning to aid Iran to prevent economic damage with tacit support from Europe.

Russia, Iran, and Turkey struck an agreement which would minimize the impact of US anti-Iranian punitive measures targeting Teheran's oil trade, the website Marco reports, citing a secret document obtained from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

To subvert the US economic blockade, Iran is expected to transport its crude to Russia's refineries on the Caspian Sea, which would later sell it as Russian oil and reimburse Iran.

The presidents of the three countries, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Iran's Hassan Rouhani, are said to have secretly agreed on this move, aimed to help the economy of the Islamic Republic, during their summit meeting in early September.

Additionally, the cited Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs document allegedly states that Washington's European allies would silently allow Iran to continue to sell its oil to Asian countries. According to the report, published by journalist Dana Weiss, Europe hopes to keep Teheran in the nuclear deal by making this concession.


According to the publication, the MFA declined to comment on this information.

Last month, Iranian and European diplomats reportedly examined a scheme to barter Iranian oil for European goods through Russia in order to bypass US restrictions, with some Asian importers doing the same. While several countries, including Japan and South Korea, have caved in to US pressure and are preparing to halt Iranian oil imports, others, including India and China, have defended their agreements with the Islamic Republic and sought ways to bypass the unilateral US restrictions.

The US withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal in May and pledged to re-impose anti-Iranian sanctions in several stages, with financial restrictions introduced this summer and energy sanctions, targeting Tehran's oil and gas exports, planned for November 4. The US withdrawal has prompted other signatories, including Russia, China, and the European powers to try to salvage the landmark nuclear deal.