Seoul Gazette - Russia, Iran to harden military, trade ties in new pact

The agreement comes just days before Iran-hawk Donald Trump enters the White House and as Moscow and Tehran seek to formalise years of deepening cooperation.

The details of the document have not been released, but the Kremlin has said it will strengthen Tehran and Moscow's "military-political and trade-economic" relations.

Moscow has looked to the Islamic republic as a strategic ally since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, worrying Western officials who see both as malign actors on the world stage.

Iran has already supplied Russia with self-detonating "Shahed" drones that Moscow fires on Ukraine in nightly barrages, according to Ukrainian and Western officials, while both have ramped up trade amid Western sanctions.

Tehran has given little detail on the new treaty, but has ruled out a mutual defence clause like the one included in Moscow's pact with North Korea last year, Russian state media reported, citing Tehran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived in the Russian capital earlier, is expected to meet counterpart Vladimir Putin later for talks and to sign the agreement, Russian state news agencies reported.

The two will also give a joint press conference, according to the Kremlin.

- 'Global hegemony' -

The two sides had been working on a new treaty for years.

Their current relationship is governed by a 2001 document that they have renewed periodically.

Russia says its upcoming pact with Iran and the already-signed treaty with Pyongyang are "not directed against any country".

"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 Tuesday.

It is set to be valid for 20 years, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made building ties with Iran, China and North Korea a cornerstone of his foreign policy as he seeks to challenge what he calls as a US-led "global hegemony".

Both Russia and Iran are under heavy Western sanctions that include restrictions on their vital energy industries.

At a summit of the BRICS group in Kazan last year, Putin told Pezeshkian he valued "truly friendly and constructive ties" between Russia and Iran.

Iran has also sought closer ties with Russia, after suffering a series of foreign policy setbacks last year.

A rebel offensive overthrew Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month, and a war last year between Israel and Tehran-ally Hezbollah substantially weakened the Islamist militant group.

Pezeshkian's visit to Russia also comes just days before Iran-hawk Trump returns to power.

The US president-elect, who is seeking a rapid end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, has made repeated military threats against the Islamic republic.

During his first term, the Republican pulled out of an international deal that provided Iran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme.

In 2020, Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in Iraq on Trump's orders, prompting a wave of fury in Iran.

Trump last year warned the US would "wipe (Iran) off the face of the Earth" if an alleged Iranian plot to kill him last year had been succesful.

L.Shin--SG