Russia and Iran have signed a strategic agreement for 20 years

The agreement, which is to be valid for 20 years, contains 47 articles covering all areas of bilateral cooperation.

According to the document signed by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, both countries will consult and cooperate in connection with military and security threats. Participation in joint military maneuvers on the territory of both countries and beyond is also planned.

At a joint press conference, Putin said that the two countries were also talking about supplying Russian gas to Iran. He added that if the project is implemented, supply volumes could eventually reach 55 billion cubic meters per year, but at the initial stage they could not exceed 2 billion cubic meters. Pezeszkian added that both sides still need to resolve some technical issues.

As Reuters highlighted, Russia is looking for new gas buyers after losing its position on the European market as a result of the war against Ukraine.

Putin also announced that Russia is considering building new units in nuclear power plants in Iran. – One is already working successfully. We are now talking about the possibility of building more, he said.

Massoud Pezeshkian visited the Kremlin for the first time since assuming the presidency last July after his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash. Pezeshkian was accompanied by his oil minister.

Moscow and Tehran say their increasingly close relations are not directed against other countries. Reuters, however, points out that they raise concerns in the West, which perceives both countries as having a “harmful influence” on the international arena.

Reuters notes that Russia made extensive use of Iranian drones during war in Ukraine. At the same time last September United States accused Tehran of providing Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, but Tehran denies supplying the mentioned military equipment. The Kremlin also refused to confirm that it had received Iranian missiles, but admitted that its cooperation with Iran covers “the most sensitive areas.”

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The strategic partnership of Russia and Iran, especially in the context of sanctions imposed by the West due to the Iranian nuclear program, is important because both countries together with China they seek to weaken the influence of the US and its allies not only in the Middle East, but around the world, experts say.

At the same time, Reuters reminds that in addition to Iran, Russia has tightened ties with other countries hostile to the US, such as North Koreasince the beginning of the war in Ukraine, and has also concluded strategic pacts with Pyongyang and a close ally Belarusas well as a strategic partnership agreement with China.

A previous meeting between Putin and Pezeshkan took place on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October 2024 and at a cultural forum in Turkmenistan in the same month.

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