Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year pact between their countries in the Kremlin on Friday, just three days before Trump took office.
The Kremlin, called the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, welcomes it as taking relations with the Islamic Republic to a new level by establishing the status of the two countries as strategic partners. Putin hailed “a real breakthrough, creating the conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the region as a whole.”
Russian media have described that it covers all areas, including defense, counterterrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and engineering.
Allies are also working to unify their national payment systems: “According to the Russian leader, in 2024, the share of transactions in Russian rubles and Iranian rials exceeded 95% of all bilateral trade operations,” TASS noted.
In addition, at a press conference with Pezeshkian, Putin said: “Our countries strongly support the principles of the primacy of international law, the sovereignty of states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.” About Pezeshkian, he said the following:
“We are witnessing a new chapter in strategic relations,” the Iranian president said, adding that the countries are ready to expand trade ties and also promote a “level of security cooperation.”
The Pact focuses heavily on defence and security cooperation. “This confirms the willingness of the parties to cooperate more closely in the field of defence and cooperation in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global level,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had previously said.
Already, both sides are working closely together on drones. Russia has been using Iranian-made “Shahed” kamikaze drones against Ukrainian cities since the start of the war in Ukraine, and Iran has reportedly set up a large UAV production facility on Russian soil at Moscow’s invitation.
Moscow and Tehran lost a key Middle Eastern ally in the fall of Bashar al Assad early last month after Islamic rebels raged across the country and the demoralized and underpaid Syrian army quickly collapsed. Turkey was widely regarded as a supporter of the rebels with intelligence and equipment, and other NATO countries probably played a background role.
As far as Iran is concerned, in his view, the agreement will further protect independence and national sovereignty:
Discussing the specifics of the deal, Jalali told Iran’s National Club of Young Journalists (YJC): “The independence and security of our country and self-reliance are crucial elements, and we are not particularly inclined to align with any particular bloc.”
“National independence is very important for the Islamic Republic of Iran. We’ve been paying for it for 45 years,” he added in an article published Saturday.
But both countries have come under far-reaching US and EU sanctions for what is happening in Ukraine. Western intelligence has also warned against handing over Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine. Although there have been reports suggesting that this has happened, there is still no conclusive evidence.
