Karimi said Iran was looking to pay for non-essential Russian imports using the rial pegged at an agreed exchange rate. He estimated potential trade exchanges in this category at between $1 billion and $1.5 billion.
"At the moment, the idea of using the international rial is being discussed with three counties — Russia, Afghanistan and Iraq. In Russia's case, work is almost done and the project is about to be implemented," he was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
The Iranian Embassy in Russia said in March that Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina hosted Iranian Ambassador Kazem Jalali for talks on banking cooperation. The two countries linked their banking messaging systems in January in a bid to increase financial transactions amid Western sanctions.