WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The economies of Russia and China could benefit significantly from the potential lifting of sanctions against Iran as well as from Iran possibly joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, experts told Sputnik.
“Iran could do a great deal of business with Russia in the future,” The George Washington University International Business and International Affairs Professor Hossein Askari said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Rossiya Segodnya news agency in an exclusive interview that lifting the sanctions against Iran will allow Tehran to make full payments on its deal with Rosatom, Russia’s national nuclear energy corporation, bringing in billions of Roubles to the Russian budget.
“Military purchases from Iran could be quite massive, because Iran needs to build its air defense system, to modernize it… all of that, I think, will be done with Russia,” he said.
Cooperation in the field of natural gas will become the third major area of Russian-Iranian future collaboration, Askari added, since Iran has the second largest reserve of gas after Russia.
“I do believe that there will be cooperation between Iran and Russia, and, of course, Qatar, on developing Iran’s gas fields, possibly liquefying it,” Askari said.
The Middle East Forum President Daniel Pipes argued Moscow would largely benefit economically from Iran’s sanctions relief, but Beijing will profit even more.
“Russia will get an economic boost from Iran’s coming out from sanctions but I think China will be the larger winner,” Pipes told Sputnik.
“Iran had wanted to join earlier, but I do not think it was invited. So I think Iran will join, the main reason Iran would like to use it was leverage with the United States and of course Iran is trying to also woe China,” Askari said.
Through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, China could become a major investor in Iran’s oil and gas industry, Askari explained.
“It is a natural [move] for Tehran to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and I expect it will be eager to do so to get closer to the Chinese economy,” Pipes agreed.
Iran's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will have good prospects if Tehran follows through with the agreements on its nuclear energy program reached in Lausanne on April 2, Lavrov told Rossiya Segodnya on Monday.
