Both Russia and Iran have to survive economic isolation. Making joint efforts to stand the pressure, the allies devised symmetrical measures to counteract the US sanctions. One of such retaliatory measures is the intention to abandon the US dollar in mutual trade settlements. Will it deal a blow to advanced Western economies and, above all, the US? The answer is obvious. They will hardly notice it. However, mass media broadcasting the government’s stance in Iran and Russia can proudly declare another stunning achievement. In fact, this measure can hardly be called punitive. It would be viewed as symmetrical if the US would scrap the Russian ruble or the Iranian rial in international trade. However, both currencies have never been used by the US in trade settlements. Moreover, no other country will ever agree to pay bills in such highly volatile currencies. Both Russia and Iran invoice their crude oil in US dollars and euros, but not in rubles and rials. So, they want to see their export revenue in the freely convertible currencies.
The funny thing is that Iran and Russia cannot employ their own national currencies in full making mutual payments, Russian Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan confirmed. He also noted that the allies will have to use, for example, the euro in some cases. The question is still open how the scheme will be implemented in practice. The central banks of both countries claimed to have available facilities, though they have never been tested yet. Nowadays, 60% of trade transactions worldwide are still settled in US dollars that makes it the de facto global currency.
