A strategic partnership agreement signed on Jan. 17 between Russia and Iran may eventually lead to greater military cooperation between the two countries, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said.
He made the remark after being asked whether Tehran and Moscow sought to further enhance bilateral cooperation in the defense and military-industrial fields at some point in the future.
Pezeshkian also claimed that the United States and its European allies sought to portray his country—and Russia—in a negative light.
“They [Western powers] are currently creating a wrong image of Russia, as they control the media and keep banking and international relations under their control and they can largely put pressure on public opinion,” Pezeshkian said.
In reference to Russia–Iran relations, he said: “We have an increasing convergence of views and approaches, which is only increasing.”
The agreement calls for Moscow and Tehran to step up cooperation in a range of fields.
This includes enhanced cooperation between their respective security services, the holding of joint military exercises, and naval visits to each other’s seaports.
According to the text of the agreement, neither will allow their respective territory to be used for any action that threatens the other, or provide help to third-party aggression against either country.
No Mutual Defense Clause
The agreement, however, did not include a mutual defense clause of the kind contained in a similar treaty signed last summer between Russia and North Korea.That treaty came into force last month after a protocol was signed between the Russian and North Korean deputy defense ministers.
Nor does the Russia–Iran agreement mention the transfer of arms between the two signatories, although it does call for enhanced “military-technical cooperation.”
Russia has used Iranian drones in its ongoing invasion of eastern Ukraine, which is set to enter its fourth year next month.
In September 2024, the United States accused Iran of delivering short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukrainian targets. Tehran denied the claim.
The Kremlin has neither confirmed nor denied whether it has received Iranian missiles but acknowledges that bilateral cooperation extends to “the most sensitive areas.”
Upon signing the partnership deal in Moscow last week, Pezeshkian, who became Iran’s president last year, hailed the agreement as a new chapter in Russia–Iran relations.
Putin said the deal would create “better conditions for bilateral cooperation in all areas.”
These, he said, included bilateral trade and economic relations, which, according to Putin, is now being conducted largely in the two countries’ national currencies.
“We need less bureaucracy and more concrete action,” the Russian leader said at the signing ceremony.
“Whatever difficulties are created by others, we will be able to overcome them and move forward,” he added, referring to Western sanctions on both countries.
Putin also said Moscow regularly informed Tehran about developments pertaining to the war in Ukraine and that the two countries closely consulted on events in both the Middle East and the South Caucasus region.
Russia and Iran were the primary backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Moscow last month when his government was toppled by a Turkey-backed rebel offensive.
