Massive Ukrainian drone attack in Russia

Iran and Russia have reportedly developed a multi-year joint plan to counter Western sanctions, according to Fox News, which obtained a confidential Russian government document outlining the effort. The document, titled "Plan for Cooperation Between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran for 2024-2026," was marked "For official use" and approved by Russia on September 2, 2024.

The plan aimed to increase bilateral trade conducted in national currencies, expanding from 68% in 2024 to 71% in 2026. It also sought to expand correspondent accounts denominated in those currencies and establish independent systems for transmitting financial messages. While the document did not explicitly mention "sanctions evasion," it referred to measures against unilateral restrictive measures imposed by the West.

In February 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk confirmed that Russia and Iran had "practically completely" switched bilateral settlements into national currencies using their own financial and banking messaging systems. Russian state corporation Rosatom continued to oversee Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, including technical support for Unit 1 and construction work for Units 2 and 3.

Russian specialists had reportedly begun returning to Bushehr for scheduled maintenance and nuclear fuel delivery by September 2, 2026.

The plan also listed specific Iranian oil and gas fields of interest to Moscow, including Shadegan, Kish, and North Pars. Responsibility for advancing these projects was assigned to Russia's Energy Ministry and unspecified Russian companies. One such project, Russian assistance in setting up production of aircraft components in Iran, had reportedly advanced as of February 2026.

The plan was set to expire on December 31, 2026, with an agreement on localized manufacturing of aircraft components due by March 31, 2026. However, Russian and Iranian officials did not respond to requests for comment, and the implementation of these projects remains unclear.