Russia and Iran presidents sign partnership treaty in Moscow
Iranian and Russian leaders praise deal covering areas including politics, security, trade, transport and energy.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin have signed a cooperation pact, deepening the partnership between two of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations.
Iranian and Russian officials said the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers areas from trade and military cooperation to science, culture and education.
At a joint news conference with Pezeshkian in Moscow on Friday, Putin praised the deal as a “real breakthrough creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the entire region.”
The Kremlin earlier said that the treaty will enhance the “military-political and trade-economic” relations between Tehran and Moscow, though the specifics remain undisclosed.
Pezeshkian said the two countries were entering a new chapter in relations, especially in trade.
The leaders said the two countries would intensify cooperation across a range of areas including politics, security, trade, transport and energy.
Both countries have increased their trade activities in response to Western sanctions. Iran has already provided Russia with self-detonating “Shahed” drones, which Moscow has used in its nightly strikes on Ukraine, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has viewed Iran as a key strategic partner, a move that has alarmed Western officials who see both nations as destabilising forces globally.
Negotiations for the new treaty have taken years. The current framework between the two countries is based on a 2001 agreement that has been periodically renewed.
“The treaty … is constructive in nature and is aimed at strengthening the capabilities of Russia, Iran, and our friends in various parts of the world,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
The treaty is expected to remain in force for 20 years, the state-owned news agency TASS reported, citing Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Building closer ties with Iran, China, and North Korea has been a central focus of Putin’s foreign policy as he seeks to challenge what he calls US-led “global hegemony.”
Pezeshkian’s visit to Russia comes after Tehran faced several foreign policy setbacks last year.
These included a Syrian opposition offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian and Iranian ally, and the weakening of the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed Hezbollah group after a war with Israel.
The treaty was signed just days before Trump’s return to power. The US president-elect, who has long been an advocate for an uncompromising stance against Iran, has threatened swift military action to end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
During his first term, Trump withdrew from a multinational deal that provided Iran with sanctions relief in exchange for nuclear restrictions.
In 2020, Trump ordered the assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike in Iraq, sparking outrage in Iran.
Last year, Trump warned that the US would “wipe [Iran] off the face of the Earth” if an alleged Iranian plot to kill him had succeeded.
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