Report: Russia to Help Iran Elude Oil Sanctions

Russia and Iran are colluding to circumvent sanctions on its oil industry, an Israeli Foreign Ministry document alleges, Hadashot news reported on Sunday.

Moscow and Tehran have made a deal whereby Iran will ship crude oil to Russia across the Caspian Sea, to be refined in Russia. From there it will be exported worldwide, the “secret” Israeli document reportedly states.

For its part, Russia will provide Iran with unspecified trade and service benefits.

If true, it will enable Iran to evade U.S. sanctions on its oil industry that are set to go into effect on November 4.

The Russian-Iranian deal was reached last month in Tehran, where Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held summit talks, the report said.

The Israeli document also reportedly warns that European countries, which have sought to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, will not raise objections to the export mechanism described. This, because they want “to avert the collapse of the Iranian economy” and “to prevent Iran from withdrawing” from the nuclear deal.

The report did not say whether Israel had shared its knowledge of the Russian-Iranian oil deal with U.S. officials.