Mohammad-Reza Farzin, governor of the Central Bank of Iran, said on Monday that a direct link has been established between Iranian and Russian banks, Tasnim reported.

According to Farzin, the first step was taken on Sunday to implement the joint action plan on banking cooperation between the central banks of the two countries signed last year.

He stressed that the channel between Iran and the rest of the world is being restored, adding that the Iranian banking network will also have direct links with 106 other foreign banks.

Following the signing of the agreement between the central banks of both countries on the same day, the Central Bank of Iran announced that the electronic financial messaging systems of Iran, known domestically as SEPAM, and the Bank of Russia, known as SPFS, are now linked.

In this regard, Mohsen Karimi, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iran for international affairs, said at the signing ceremony that the move will help lay the groundwork for entrepreneurs and banks in the two countries to expand cooperation and operations without violating sanctions.

Under the deal, all Iranian banks abroad and foreign banks connected to Russia's SPFS, including more than 100 institutions in 13 different countries, will be able to communicate and exchange messages with Iranian banks inside the country.