Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is scheduled to visit Moscow on Friday for talks with strongman President Vladimir Putin, with both governments confirming the meeting will include signing a new Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Confirmed.
Pezeshikian, a subordinate of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, is currently on a regional tour, including a visit to Iran. tajikistan Thursday before arriving in Russia. International observers have warned that the Iran-Russia talks will continue as both the Kremlin and Tehran tease the new “partnership agreement” as significantly strengthening the already existing close ties between the two rogue states, especially on the economic front. I'm watching with anticipation.
Iran and Russia have long maintained diplomatic relations and supported each other's goals internationally. Together they were key allies responsible for keeping Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in power during more than a decade of civil war. Assad's regime was overthrown in December by the jihadist militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Both countries are also members of the anti-American BRICS coalition, which President Pezechikian declared wants to “neutralize” American interests.
The two countries are seeking to officially strengthen their relationship, replacing their 24-year-old cooperation agreement, the Treaty on the Basis of Mutual Relations and Principles of Cooperation. The agreement was supposed to last 10 years, but after several extensions, it expires in 2026. Iranian state propaganda agency press tv reported on Monday that the new comprehensive agreement will focus on multiple economic sectors and boost trade to keep both countries' struggling economies afloat.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghai said on Monday that “the agreement covers multiple areas, including economy, transportation, energy, health, agriculture,” and “countering organized crime, terrorism and crime. This includes cooperation in areas of common challenges, such as: climate change. ”
The agreement is expected to last at least 20 years.
Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Moscow, said on Thursday that one area the deal does not cover is direct military aid. According to Russian news agencies, Jalali told reporters that the agreement does not include mutual defense clauses. Tas. International observers believe Russia and Tehran could agree to such a mutual defense clause, given that Russia has signed similar agreements with recent rogue states, most notably North Korea in June. He expressed concern that this may be the case.
The signing of the North Korean Mutual Defense Agreement, which took place during Putin's visit to Pyongyang, came before Ukraine reported the presence of thousands of North Korean soldiers on its border, fighting alongside Russian forces in the country's ongoing invasion. It was held on. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced last week that his country's military had captured at least two North Korean soldiers alive.
“The nature of this agreement is different,” Jalali said. claimed that. “[With North Korea]they established cooperation in many areas where we did not focus much. Our independence and security, and our dependence on our own strength, are of great importance. ”
“We have no interest in joining any bloc,” Jalali said a year after Iran joined the BRICS coalition. “In 45 years, we have [heavy] This is the price of independence for the Islamic Republic of Iran. ”
The agreement shared by Jalali includes a memorandum of understanding on respecting the “territorial integrity” of both countries, which suggests that Iran accepts Russia's false claims to sovereign Ukrainian territory. .
Putin's top spokesman Dmitry Peskov did so. list In comments to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Wednesday, it announced “military” cooperation as part of a new comprehensive agreement, but gave no details.
“The areas of cooperation include military, political, trade, economic, scientific, educational, cultural and humanitarian activities,” he said.
In addition to signing the agreement, the Kremlin press agency explained A statement Thursday said Peseshkian and Putin will discuss the war between Israel and Iranian proxies in Gaza, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and other “Middle East situations.”
“Russian-Iranian relations are improving and are being intensively developed under the principles of mutual respect and due regard for interests,” the statement said, according to Interfax news agency.
Jalali independence highlighted In separate interviews on Thursday, the two leaders said finding ways to pay for bilateral trade outside of the international payments system SWIFT, which has been banned because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was on the agenda for both leaders.
“The situation of cooperation between banks and currencies has improved significantly,” he said. “We are currently working on confidential financial messaging channels to completely eliminate SWIFT.”
The timing of Pezeshikian's trip is caused There are some concerns as it will arrive just before President-elect Donald Trump's scheduled inauguration on Monday. In remarks on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov insisted that the agreement signed by the two countries and the visit to complete the partnership will benefit Russia and Iran and will not hurt the United States.
“This treaty, like the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, does not target third countries,” Lavrov said. said reporters. “This is constructive and aims to enable Russia and Iran, and our friends around the world, to better develop their economies, address social problems and ensure reliable defense capabilities.”
