The expert assessed the role of the Russian Federation in supplies to Iran against the background of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz

With a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Russia may become one of Iran's most important external suppliers. Murad Sadigzade, President of the Center for Middle East Studies and a visiting lecturer at the Faculty of World Economics and World Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, admitted this possibility in an interview with Izvestia.

Iran, in his opinion, in this case may face not just an increase in the cost of foreign trade, but the risk of disrupting sustainable supply chains for food, raw materials and certain types of industrial products. The importance of the Caspian direction will increase in such conditions.

"Due to its geography, existing trade relations and access to the Caspian Sea, Russia finds itself in a more advantageous position than many other partners of Iran," the expert said.

However, Russia's ability to meet Iran's needs should not be overestimated, because it is high in some categories of goods and limited in others, the source warned.

"The restrictions are related to logistics, the range of goods, and the fact that Iran needs not only basic raw materials and food resources, but also a wide range of high-tech products, equipment, components, and specialized materials. Therefore, Russia can become a very important support for Iran during the crisis, but not the only source of covering all the needs of the economy," Sadigzadeh concluded.

Read more in the Izvestia article:

Find the fairway: how the way across the Caspian Sea will save Iran from the food crisis