The Iranian parliament has ratified an agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to create a free trade zone, Mehr news agency reported on February 28.

"The free trade agreement between Iran and Eurasia has been approved by parliament... Member countries of this union have also completed the development of documents and received approval from their parliaments," said Iranian Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade Mohammad Atabak.

The minister called the conclusion of "international agreements that open trade opportunities" a "positive moment."

The free trade agreement with the EEU will allow Iran to export 87% of national goods to the union's member states and import goods from Eurasian countries with zero duties, just as Moscow appears to be stuck between Tehran and Washington.

"The total population of the member countries of this association is 240mn people, so this is a huge market that can be explored," Atabak emphasised.

The trade agreement with the EEU will be implemented in late March-April 2025, the Iranian minister added.

Iran saw a large rise in exports to EEU, with a 22% jump in value and a 27% increase in volume over the first ten months of the Persian calendar year, IRNA reported on February 24.

According to the spokesperson for the Trade Development Commission of Iran's House of Industry, Mine and Trade, Rouhollah Latifi, Iran shipped over 4.28mn tonnes of goods to the EEU in the ten-month period, worth around $1.63bn.

Russia remains the top destination for Iranian goods within the EEU, with imports totalling 2.1mn tonnes, worth $889mn, nearly half the weight and over half the value of Iran’s exports to the bloc.

Armenia ranks as Iran’s second-largest regional trading partner, accounting for 40.1% of the weight and 24.7% of the value of exports.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk stated that Tehran was completing the ratification procedures for creating a free trade zone with the EEU.

Vladislav Kondratiev, editor of the Russian analytical portal "Caspian Bulletin" (Astrakhan), told Vestnik Kavkaza about the benefits Iran and the EEU will derive from creating a free trade zone.

"Since a strict sanctions regime continues to apply to Iran from the West, the Islamic Republic is interested in increasing trade volumes with regional states. The EEU, by providing a free trade zone with reduced customs duties, creates economic advantages for Iran. Now Iranian enterprises will be able to trade their goods on more favourable terms in the Eurasian Union markets," he said.

"Russia will certainly benefit from the FTA between Iran and the EEU, as its introduction ensures increased trade turnover. Currently, Russian-Iranian trade amounts to about $4bn per year, and with the adoption of the agreement, there is a prospect for its growth," continued the editor of "Caspian Bulletin."

In late January, Andrei Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), announced during a consultation meeting between Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and business circles that the procedures necessary for the entry into force of the free trade agreement with Iran had been completed by the EEU.