Iran's Relations With Russia Will Develop In A "Lasting" Way

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said today that his country's relations with the Russian Federation will develop "in a continuous and lasting manner", during a meeting with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergei Shoigu.

"Relations between Tehran and Moscow will develop in a permanent, continuous and lasting manner", Pezeshkian told Shoigu, who arrived in the Iranian capital today, according to a statement from the Presidency.

Pezeshkian considered that, in this way, "the effectiveness of Western sanctions" that affect the two states will be reduced.

For his part, Shoigu delivered a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which he assured that "the Russian position on cooperation with Iran has not changed".

This message was seen as an apparent reference to the friction between the two states, regarding Russian support for the opening of an Azerbaijani corridor through Armenia, which Iran opposes.

Iran has always opposed the establishment of this transport route, which would eliminate direct Iranian access to Armenia unless the corridor is controlled by Yerevan, which also does not want it because it wants to maintain sovereignty over the infrastructure.

In early September, Tehran summoned Russian Ambassador Alexey Dedov to protest Moscow's support for this project.

Russian-Iranian relations have strengthened in recent years since the invasion of Ukraine, on economic issues, as both face Western economic sanctions, but also political and military issues.

Several Western states have sanctioned Iran in recent weeks over the alleged supply of missiles to the Russian Federation to be used in attacks on Ukraine, which Iran has denied.