Russia will fund the construction of a new nuclear plant in Iran, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said at the closing ceremony of the 18th Joint Economic Cooperation Commission on Friday.
The two countries will undertake "the construction of new nuclear energy facilities and the completion of phases two and three of the Bushehr power plant using Moscow's credit line," Paknejad said.
Russia has helped Iran build its first nuclear reactor at Bushehr, in the south of the country.
Paknejad's comments came as US and Iran officials met in Oman on Saturday for a third round of nuclear talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators, a week after a second round of talks took place in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
Expert indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear day prior to the lead negotiators' meeting.
Trump said that the third round of talks is going well. "I think we're doing very well on an agreement with Iran... That one is well on its way - we could have a very, very good decision. And a lot of lives will be saved," he told reporters in the Oval Office.
The talks will continue next week, with another "high-level meeting" provisionally scheduled for May 3.
Deepening Russia-Iran gas trade
Tehran and Moscow also agreed on a deal to supply Iran with 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year, prices yet to be confirmed.
Additionally, Paknejad said on Friday that Iran will sign a $4 billion agreement with Russian companies to develop seven oilfields.
The two countries are angling to sign agreements that increase the flow of Russian gas and bolster Iran's position as a regional gas hub.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year strategic partnership treaty in January, involving closer defense cooperation and upscaling economic ties and trade between their two countries, to be carried out in their own currencies.
A burgeoning Iran-Russia-China triangle of influence
In March, Iranian media announced that Iran had successfully executed the second day of a three-day naval drill with Russia and China in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.
The drills, codenamed the 2025 Maritime Security Belt, focused on striking maritime targets, damage control, and joint search-and-rescue operations.
Iran announced it would be taking part in the drill days after dismissing an offer from the US president for nuclear negotiations.
Trump dismissed the drills, telling Fox News, "We're stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them."