Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing punitive measures, several countries replaced the US and Western countries as Moscow’s top exporters, but Iran lagged behind.
According to a Monday report published by 90eghtesadi, a website close to the Islamic Republic’s hardliners, Turkey, Iran, India, Brazil, and the UAE vied for a share in the Russian market, but Ankara’s exports were 14 to 18 times higher than Tehran’s.
The report claimed that Turkey's exports to Russia from February 2022 – when the war started -- to January 2023 reached nearly $10 billion, but the Islamic Republic exported only about $709 million during the timespan. Turkey’s monthly exports to Russia were about seven time more than Iran’s before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine but increased 14 to 18 times in different months during the past year.
The data of Russia's trade with different countries show that Iran has not been able to make good use of the opportunity created by Russia's war to expand its trade ties, the report said.
According to the monthly chart published by the website, in some months, the exports of Iranian goods to Russia hit lower than the monthly exports before the Russian aggression. The released data do not include any details about the commodities imported by Russia.
The Islamic Republic did not manage to gain from the international measures aimed at further isolating Moscow but has faced several rounds of sanctions for supplying drones and missiles for the Russian invasion. Iran has supplied hundreds of Shahed and other drones to Russia since mid-2022, and although Ukraine is capable of shooting down most of the slow-moving UAVs, Russia relies on the Iranian weapon to swarm Ukraine’s air defenses.
The United States and its European allies have imposed a series of sanctions on Iranian individuals and companies involved with the drone program and shipments of the weapon to Russia. They have also warned Tehran that one of the conditions to restart nuclear talks is ending its weapons supplies to Russia. A nuclear agreement between Iran and the West could suspend most economic sanctions and boost the country’s economy.
In addition to Tehran’s failure in securing a share of the Russian market, a document obtained by Iran International revealed in February that Russian companies are not willing to invest in oil and gas projects in southern Iran, despite joint plans. In a top-secret letter addressed to First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber, Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said that many development projects that were supposed to be carried out by Chinese and Russian companies have been stopped, calling on the government to take measures to re-start the projects.
Tehran keeps boasting about its long-term strategic cooperation deals with Russia and China, but such deals have not yet borne any tangible results, despite several meetings among senior officials of the countries. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on an official visit to Moscow late in March to exchange views on signing a long-term strategic agreement, Tehran’s nuclear issue and the war in Ukraine. Moreover, some Iranian observers suggest that the West is not likely to respond to Iran's renewed calls for nuclear talks unless Tehran stops helping Moscow in its war.
"We will not allow the Iranians and Hezbollah to harm us. We have not allowed it in the past, we won’t allow it now, or anytime in the future," Gallant said during the visit to an army brigade in the West Bank.
The statement came as tensions increased last week with three Israeli air and missile strikes on Iranian bases in Syria, followed by warnings of retaliation by Tehran. Iran admitted that two of its officers were killed in the attack, leading to suspicions that it wanted to lay the ground for a possible counterattack.
Iran's government spokesman, Ali Bahadori-Jahromi, tweeted Sunday that Israel's "terrorist acts will not remain unanswered."
An unidentified aircraft that tried to enter Israel from Syria on Sunday was shot down by the air force, but the government has not yet officially identified it as an Iranian aircraft, most probably a drone.
Iranian officials and government media remained silent on the aircraft incident on Monday, with some newspapers and websites simply reporting the incident and unconfirmed reports that the Israeli government believes the intruding aircraft was Iranian.
Netanyahu announced Gallant's dismissal a week ago after he spoke out against the pace of the government's hotly contested judicial reforms.
The announcement triggered foreign alarm and unprecedented street protest, and Gallant never received a formal dismissal letter from Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's religious-nationalist coalition government has since moved to pause the judicial reforms.
Gallant was briefed during his visit on a probe into a Palestinian motorist who the Israeli military said it shot on Saturday after he rammed his car into a group of soldiers in the West Bank.
Israeli-Palestinian tensions are simmering after months of violence in areas of Jerusalem and the West Bank. Tensions are also simmering with Syria, Iran and with Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
"All our fronts are tense. The Iranians are extending their outreach to (the West Bank) and Gaza and are attempting to entrench themselves in Syria and Lebanon," said Gallant.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) called on Palestinians last week to take advantage of recent protests in Israel to destabilize the country. IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said on Tuesday that “the occupied territories are the scene of confrontation of a movement within the Zionist regime that wants to stand against the totalitarianism of another wing.”
“This is a golden opportunity for the Palestinian fighters to take advantage of the situation,” he added.
Iranian government media have been trumpeting “the end of Israel” resulting from internal disagreements.
Gen. Sharif was quoted by local media on March 29 as saying that Jerusalem's "liberation" is near, "thanks to the Palestinian struggle", and to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who "is the flag-bearer" of the fight against Israel. He also said that IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani played an important role in driving the "resistance". Soleimani was targeted and killed by the United States in Baghdad in January 2020.
Reza Sameh told IRNA on Monday that during Nowruz holidays, the world heritage site of Persepolis with 261,049 tourists had the most visitors.
According to him, it was followed by Imam Square (formerly Shah Square) in Esfahan, and Fin Bathhouse in Kashan.
Back in October, the Islamic Republic banned people from visiting the Pasargadae and Persepolis, ancient sites dating back to Achaemenid Empire on Cyrus the Great Day, in fear of antigovernment protests.
October 29 is considered by some historians as the death anniversary of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian empire the Achaemenids.
To commemorate the king, every year many Iranians visit the Tomb of Cyrus on October 29, a mausoleum located in Pasargadae archaeological site as well as Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire.
In recent years, the Islamic Republic implemented security measures and even blocked roads leading to Pasargadae and Persepolis to prevent people from visiting the ancient sites on October 29 because they are considered symbols of monarchy by the clerical regime.
The measures especially intensified since October 2016, when thousands of people gathered at the historical site and chanted antigovernment slogans such as "Iran is our homeland, Cyrus is our father."
