"At the bilateral meeting of the delegations of specialists of the two countries, along with the finalization of the requirements for linking the Russian payment system Mir to the Iranian system SHETAB, the project reached the practical level, the first stage of which will be available to foreign citizens by the end of the next month per the Gregorian calendar (at the beginning of the Iranian month of Shahrivar) [August 22]," Farzin was quoted by Iranian news agency Tasnim as saying.
Iranian citizens will also be able to will be able to withdraw rubles from their Shetab cards using ATMs in Russia and pay with their cards in Russian shops, he added.
At the same time, Moscow and Tehran have signed a currency agreement to ensure the liquidity of the ruble and the rial in commercial transactions, Farzin said.