Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran-Russia relations are growing “stronger day by day” as he met Russian President Vladimir Putin today for the first time, according to Russian news agency TASS.
Putin met Pezeshkian, a former cardiac surgeon turned politician who was elected in July, in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat. Their meeting focused on discussing “bilateral issues” as well as “the situation in the Middle East,” according to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.
Pezeshkian said of the relation between the two countries: “Iran-Russia relations are strategic and sincere. Our cooperation is getting stronger day by day in economic and cultural fields.”
The meeting on October 11 follows heightening tensions between Iran and Israel. Israel threatened “lethal” retaliation following Iranian missile attacks on Israel earlier this month, and there are concerns about the two countries’ military relations, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Iran of sending ballistic missiles to Russia to be used in Ukraine.
Alexander Shcherbak/Associated Press
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairsand the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairsfor comment via email outside of business hours.
Speaking of Russia’s relations with Iran, Putin told TASS, “We are actively working together on the international arena and our assessments of current events in the world are often very close.”
In previous discussions with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Pezeshkian said that he also hoped to strengthen Russia-Iran ties to work together to counter Western sanctions.
The Iranian president also emphasized that he wishes to sign a partnership treaty with Moscow at the BRICS Summit, which will be held this year from October 22 to 24 in Kazan, Russia. The annual international relations conference is run by the leaders of nations including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Putin approved a draft of the partnership treaty on September 18, and earlier this month the Iranian ambassador to Moscow said the document was ready to sign.
The strategic partnership treaty, previously agreed upon and signed by Putin and the previous Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, was stalled when Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
On strengthening relations between the two nations, Putin said, according to the President of Russia’s website: “Considering the will of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we must ensure that our relations improve and become stronger moving forward. We have many opportunities to achieve this objective, and it is our duty to assist one another in these efforts. We share similar visions, and there are many similarities in terms of our respective international standing.”
Pezeshkian and Putin’s meeting follows a history of strong Russia-Iran relations. Iran has been accused of providing Russia with missiles to use in its war against Ukraine, though Iran has denied supplying weapons to the Kremlin.
Iran and Russia’s military relationship significantly improved when Moscow and Tehran joined forces to aid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2015, who was facing overthrow at the time, and their relations further strengthened with the onset of the 2022 war in Ukraine, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Russia has reportedly said it would pay back Iran for its alleged assistance during the Ukraine war by providing the nation with Su-35 fighter jets and advanced air defense systems.
The two nations have also reportedly worked together on cyber issues relating to U.S. intelligence, and Russia is said to have sold Iran eavesdropping devices, advanced photography devices and lie detectors in 2023.
Russia and Iran also share strong economic ties because, due to economic sanctions, Russia has become one of Iran’s top trading partners, according to the World Integrated Trade Solution.
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