Moscow and
Tehran have taken their cooperation to the level of strategic partnership with
a “truly epochal” pact, Farhad Ibrahimov, a Middle East expert at the
Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club, told RT on Friday.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed
a major bilateral security pact in Moscow on Friday. The bilateral Treaty on
Comprehensive Strategic Partnership states that Russia and Iran will boost
security, naval, economic, and humanitarian cooperation for the next 20 years.
“This agreement
is truly epochal,” Ibrahimov said. “Russia and Iran have reached a new level of
cooperation.”
The two BRICS+
states see each other as key strategic partners which share similar world
views, he added.
“And of course,
Iran has long regarded Russia as one of its most important strategic partners,
sometimes even describing Moscow as an ally,” Ibrahimov stated.
“Iran sees
Russia as a player who can help form a new world order within the system of
international relations, which is a fundamental task for Tehran,” he said, adding
that Russia is one of the few sovereign countries in the world that can afford
to challenge the US, while Tehran sees the US as “the greatest threat to the
security of the entire world and the Middle East in particular.”
The economic
cooperation clauses of the agreement are very important to Iran, as the country
has been living under Western sanctions for decades, Ibrahimov said. Despite
this, the security aspects of the agreement are not directed against any state
in particular, he stressed.
Russia and Iran
will not provide any kind of assistance to the aggressor – military or
otherwise – in the event either country is attacked, according to the text of
the agreement published on the Kremlin’s website on Friday.
“The agreements
reached will contribute to the further strengthening of the entire complex of
Russian-Iranian relations and ties,” Putin said at a press conference
alongside Pezeshkian on Friday.
January
17, 2025
Russian
President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, President Masoud
Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation agreement on 17 January after holding
talks in Moscow.
In
a joint press conference, Putin hailed the agreement as a “real breakthrough
creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran,
and the entire region.”
Putin
expressed hope that the new treaty will help expand trade and that the two
countries are trying to solve technical issues to advance projects aimed at
shipping Russian gas to Iran and build transport corridors to Iran’s ports.
Pezeshkian
referred to the deal as a “new chapter” between Russia and Iran – two of the
most heavily sanctioned countries.
The
Russian and Iranian presidents confirmed that the deal will enhance cooperation
in several fields, including politics, security, trade, transport, energy,
agriculture, technology, counterterrorism, and defense.
The
signing of the agreement has formalized the two nations’ status as strategic
partners and sets a legal precedence for long-term cooperation.
The
terms stipulate that if one party is attacked, the other cannot provide
military assistance to the aggressor. Under the agreement, Russia and Iran have
stressed a commitment to developing their military and technical cooperation
while agreeing to conduct joint military exercises.
Moscow
and Tehran agreed officially not to join third countries' sanctions against
each other, and have guaranteed that there will be no use of unilateral
coercive measures.
The
deal will see them cooperate on issues of arms control, disarmament, and
enhancing international security.
They
will cooperate to counter media disinformation and propaganda against both
countries, and will work to enhance joint payment methods.
Iranian
and Russian card payment systems were formally linked on 11 November as part of
efforts to circumvent western sanctions. Last year, Iran joined the BRICS+
group of emerging economies, a leading alternative to the western-led G7 group.
Russia
and Iran have also significantly boosted military ties.
Iranian
officials have confirmed that the agreement signed between Tehran and Moscow
will not include a clause on mutual defense, meaning they will not be required
to come to each other’s aid if one is attacked.
The
signing of the deal on Friday coincided with a report that the two nations have
agreed on a gas pipeline route from Iran to Russia, which will pass through
Azerbaijan
“We
are now in the final stage of negotiations – price approval. The volumes have
already been fixed. Price is always a commercial issue, a search for
compromise, so working groups have been created on both sides, and specialists
are developing an approach to pricing,” Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilev
said, according to TASS.
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