Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandozi expressed Tehran's readiness to expand cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, including "peaceful" nuclear energy. He stated, "The prospects for cooperation in the field of new energy and renewable energy sources, as well as in other types of energy, including peaceful nuclear energy, certainly generate a significant interest and motivation to expand economic relations with Russia."
The Iranian economy minister confirmed that Tehran is relying on "huge quantities" of oil and gas exchanges from Russia this year. Khandozi revealed in an interview with the Russian state media agency that this year will see a substantial amount of supply exchanges, stating, "We are very pleased that Tehran and Moscow have begun cooperation concerning the exchange of oil and gas supplies."
Details about the expected volume of oil and gas from Iran were not disclosed. In October, Russia stated that the exchange deal with Iran could initially include five million tons of oil and ten billion cubic meters of natural gas annually. Iran and Russia are also collaborating on the construction of the Iranian Bushehr nuclear power plant. Russia began shipping nuclear fuel to Bushehr in late 2007, a move that both Washington and Moscow stated eliminated any need for Iran to have its own uranium enrichment program.
