Russia’s ‘comprehensive’ treaty with Iran will include defence: Lavrov

MOSCOW: A treaty that Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly will include closer defence cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

Military ties between the two countries are a source of deep concern to the West as Russia wages war in Ukraine while Iran and Israel have exchanged missile and air strikes in the Middle East.

“The treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran that is being prepared will become a serious factor in strengthening Russian-Iranian relations,” Lavrov told state television.

He said the agreement was being prepared for signing “in the near future”. Russia has said it expects Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian to visit Moscow before the end of the year. “It will confirm the parties’ desire for closer cooperation in the field of defence and interaction in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global levels,” Lavrov said. He did not specify what form the defence ties would take.

Russia has deepened its ties with Iran and North Korea, which are both strongly antagonistic towards the United States, since the start of its war with Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a similarly titled “comprehensive” treaty in June, including a mutual defence clause, and the US and NATO say Pyongyang has sent some 10,000 soldiers to Russia for possible deployment in the war.