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Gazprom delegation visits Iran to boost cooperation
In the course of the visit, a working meeting was held in Tehran between Miller and Mohsen Paknejad, Iran’s Minister of Oil, according to gazprom.com.
The meeting addressed matters pertaining to the cooperation in the gas sector. In June 2024, the strategic memorandum on the elaboration of arrangements for supplies of Russian natural gas to Iran was signed with the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) during the visit of Miller to Iran.
Local media reports at the time suggested that Gazprom would supply some 300 million cubic meters per day of gas to Iran under the deal to enable the country to increase its exports via pipelines to Iraq and Turkey.
Russia has been facing an oversupply of natural gas since early 2022 when its exports to Europe came under sanctions due to the war in Ukraine.
Experts say the agreement between the NIGC and Gazprom could turn Iran into a major gas transfer hub in the region once it is fully implemented.
Miller also met with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, who serves as the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) on Tuesday, according to IRNA.
It said Miller had traveled to Tehran to follow up on negotiations earlier this month in St. Petersburg between Ahmadian and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Miller also briefed Ahmadian on agreements he had reached with senior Iranian energy sector officials, it said.
Ahmadian said in the meeting that the leaders of Iran and Russia seek closer energy ties and that the SNSC will work toward the full implementation of contracts between the two countries.
Miller is the third senior Russian government official to visit Tehran after Ahmadian’s visit to Russia in early September to attend a meeting of top security officials of the BRICS grouping of developing countries.
Putin’s aide Igor Levitin and Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu were in Tehran last week to meet with Ahmadian and other senior Iranian government officials.