If Russia wants to evade sanctions, it could learn from Iran’s playbook
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REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
If Russia wants to evade sanctions, it could learn from Iran’s playbook
Updated 10:20 AM ET, Fri April 15, 2022
Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN)As Russia faces unprecedented sanctions on virtually all sectors of its economy, it may have to turn to a trusted ally with more than four decades of experience with Western embargoes.
Until the Ukraine war, Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world, according to Castellum.Ai, which tracks sanctions. Russia now holds that record and the two countries are in what analysts call “a marriage of convenience” that is likely to grow stronger as the war in Ukraine escalates.
“Common interests in helping the other evade sanctions are important to these dynamics in Russia-Iran relations,” said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics in Washington DC.
Amid tit-for-tat air blockades between Moscow and the West last month, Russian transport minister Vitaly Savelyev said his country is “studying the case of Iran” to help it deal with sanctions on maintenance and spare parts. Iran still operates some planes purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ruptured its ties with the West.
“This bilateral relationship will likely grow stronger as the war in Ukraine rages on, especially if the Vienna talks fail to revive the JCPOA,” Cafiero added, referring to the 2015 deal that put verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear program designed to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. He noted that Iran’s isolation will further push Tehran to make itself useful to the Kremlin.
After decades of Western economic constraints, the Islamic Republic has become a master of evasion, using illicit markets and manipulating vessel-tracking to circumvent sanctions. Today, Russia is living a similar crisis as the West clamps down on Moscow in an effort to cripple its war effort.
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