Iran is turning to Russia as an economic partner as Tehran reels under tough US sanctions.

One of the largest-ever Russian business delegations visited the Iranian capital in mid-September.

Representatives from 65 Russian firms and 650 Iranian companies met to discuss business opportunities in farming, manufacturing, IT and various other fields.

An Iranian manufacturer of paper mill machinery has struggled to import high-quality components from Western countries due to economic sanctions.

The firm, which has a plant on the outskirts of Tehran, now sources about 80 percent of its components domestically, and gets the rest mainly from China.

The company hopes Russia will provide high-quality parts as well as advanced technology.

The manager says he can neither export nor import products due to the sanctions, adding that it seems as if Iran has been fenced off from the rest of the world.

He says his plant cannot adopt the cutting-edge technologies used in Germany or Japan, and would like Russian firms to share their skills.

Iranian customs officials say Russia accounted for only 3 percent of Iran's imports and around 1 percent of its exports last year. But moves are now underway to expand commerce while avoiding sanctions.

An Iranian economic analyst says Iran and Russia have been rivals as oil producers, and it will take some time for the two sides to fully understand each other's markets.

But the analyst says it is inevitable that the two countries will approach each other, as Iran is seeking a stable partner following the departure of Western firms due to the US sanctions.