The Graphic Truth: Russia-Iran trade rebounds

The leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey recently met in Tehran, where they portrayed their countries as great friends. Not only were Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Raisi in agreement on many things — such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — but they signed a $40 billion deal to develop future oil and gas projects jointly. We look at trade numbers between the two to see just how strong their friendship really is. As it turns out, the commitment is real: the Russia-Iran trade balance more than tripled between 2020 and 2021.