An agreement between Iran and Russia will have the former breaking free of the petrodollar. But the agreement opens up opportunities of barter trade with Russia in the form of the deal that was first signed in 2014.
The oil minister of Iran, Bijan Zanganesh has stated in an announcement that Iran and Russia are entering into an agreement which gives Iran the option to detach itself from the petrodollar. Moreover, the agreement allows Iran to barter crude oil for products with Russia, Zerohedge reported.
According to Russian news agencies, the announcement that was made by the oil minister of Iran, clearly indicates that the agreement has already been signed. However, Iran is waiting for an implementation from Russia, following which, oil tankers will be sent by Russia to Iran.
It must be mentioned here that it was in April 2014, that the $20 billion agreement was signed by Iran and Russia. However, according to reports from Russia Today, it was in 2017 that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had the plan back into action which will have Russia purchasing 100000 barrels of oil per day. And, the payment would be made in two modes. One mode will be cash, which will amount to 50 percent and the remaining 50 percent would be made in the form of goods and services.
Notably, the International Monetary Fund had issued a statement in February, stating that Iran was under SWIFT once again, however, the banks will face challenges as the US sanctions are still pending. Additionally, the statement stated, "US dollar clearing restrictions have not been lifted and pose a significant challenge for non-US banks who may do business with Iran, but may not be paid in US dollars." So, the ban on trade in US dollars still exists, due to which the country cannot sell oil in the open market.
