Economics
Iran Touts Russia's Plan to Invest in Its Oil With Sanctions Looming
- Moscow ready to invest up to $50 billion, according to Iran
- Russia so far confirmed its interest in oil-for-goods program
Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ali Akbar Velayati outside Moscow on July 12.
Photographer: Alexei Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images
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Iran said Russia is ready to invest as much as $50 billion in its oil industry even as Western majors are pulling out of deals with the republic amid the threat of U.S. sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin has confirmed the spending plan, with at least three deals worth some $15 billion already on the table, Ali Akbar Velayati, foreign policy adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in Moscow Friday. Russia is ready to invest in crude exploration and production, as well as refining, he said.