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US raises concerns over Russia-Iran oil deal report
January 14, 2014, 11:18 am

The deal with Moscow could boost Iran’s oil exports, which have been cut by more than half to about 1 million barrels a day by sanctions led by the US and European states over Tehran’s nuclear program [Getty Images]

The deal with Moscow could boost Iran’s oil exports, which have been cut by more than half to about 1 million barrels a day by sanctions led by the US and European states over Tehran’s nuclear program [Getty Images]

The US has raised concerns about Iranian-Russian talks over an oil-for-goods deal and could impose sanctions, says a Reuters report on Tuesday.

The $1.5 billion-a-month oil-for-goods deal report cited Iranian and Russian sources as saying that the two states are negotiating a swap that could see Russia buy up to 500,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods.

Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, told Reuters on Monday that US Secretary of State John Kerry had expressed concern over the reported negotiations to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during their Monday meeting in Paris.

The deal with Moscow could boost Iran’s oil exports, which have been cut by more than half to about 1 million barrels a day by sanctions led by the US and European states over Tehran’s nuclear program.

“If the reports are true, such a deal would raise serious concerns as it would be inconsistent with the terms of the P5+1 agreement with Iran and could potentially trigger US sanctions,” Hayden told Reuters.

On Sunday, Iran agreed to limit its enrichment of uranium and allow more international monitoring for six months in exchange for about $7 billion in sanctions relief.

Once Iran begins to implement the Geneva deal, the P5+1 group ( United States, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany) will begin to ease sanctions on Tehran, according to Press TV.

 

 Source: Agencies