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How Russia's war complicated Iran nuclear talks
Summary
A look back at 11 March 2022, when sanctions on Russia collided with diplomacy and commodity markets.
What did sanctions on Russia mean beyond the battlefield? On 11 March 2022, one answer was visible in the stalled renegotiation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iranian nuclear deal. Talks had reached an impasse because of Russian demands for its own sanctions exemption.
Sanctions as a bargaining chip
The impasse showed how measures aimed at Russia were spilling into unrelated diplomacy. Moscow's demand tied the fate of the Iran negotiations to the penalties it faced over its war on Ukraine.
Markets under strain
The pressure was also visible in commodities. On 7 March 2022, aluminium and nickel hit record prices on the London exchange, at about $4,000 and $55,000 per tonne respectively. Nickel rose 90% in intraday trading. Copper reached $10,845 per tonne and palladium $3,440 per ounce. Russia is a substantial producer of all these metals, and the market expected shortages as further sanctions hit the country.
The hunt for alternative oil
Energy followed a similar pattern. On 6 March 2022, the United States began talks with Venezuela on supplies of its oil, which was under sanctions, in an attempt to substitute for Russian crude. So far the talks had yielded few results.
Taken together, the three developments show how sanctions on Russia were reshaping diplomacy, metals trading and oil sourcing at the same moment.
