Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a comprehensive agreement with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to strengthen ties at a time when their countries are under heavy Western sanctions, Agence France-Presse reported. However, the pact between Moscow and Tehran does not provide for a clause on mutual military assistance, which is the essential difference between it and the one between Russia and North Korea, concluded last year, BTA writes.
The new treaty, signed on Friday in the Russian capital, provides in particular for deepening military and economic cooperation, with both countries defining the pact as an important stage in the development of bilateral relations.
Moscow has begun to view the Islamic Republic as a strategic ally since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, which has caused concern in Western capitals, as they perceive Russia and Iran as malign actors in the international arena.
The two countries pledged to help each other in countering “security threats“, according to a copy of the agreement distributed by the Kremlin. But it will not be a military assistance pact like the one Russia signed with North Korea last year.
They also agreed that if either side is subjected to aggression, “the other will not help the aggressor“.
Putin and Pezeshkian, who signed the agreement at a ceremony in the Kremlin, hailed the agreements as a new page in bilateral relations.
“This truly historic document aims to create the necessary conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia and Iran and our entire Eurasian region,“ Putin said.
Pezeshkian said the pact “opens a new page in Russian-Iranian relations in all areas, particularly in the field of economic cooperation“.
ENERGY SECTOR
The two sides agree to “support mutual trade and economic cooperation in all areas”, a key point of the pact, as trade between the two countries grows amid heavy Western sanctions on their energy sector, which is of key importance to them.
The agreement also provides for training of military personnel from both sides and formalizing the right of warships and vessels from one side to be allowed to dock in the ports of the other.
The document does not explicitly address the issue of arms exchange, an area of cooperation also under Western sanctions. According to the West, Iran supplies Russia with “Shahed” kamikaze drones, which Moscow has used in its midnight attacks on Ukraine.
Sitting next to Putin after the signing of the treaty, Pezeshkian called for a political agreement to end the conflict in the Eastern European country, which has been going on for almost three years. “I would like to remind you that war does not solve problems, so we would welcome negotiations and the achievement of peace between Russia and Ukraine.“
IRAN – SECONDARY AXIS FOR RUSSIA
Although Iran sees this agreement as an opportunity to ease its international isolation, analysts say Russia considers Tehran a secondary player in its foreign policy strategy, which is based primarily on settling relations with the West, and in particular with the United States, notes “Deutsche Welle“.
Moscow's cooperation with the Islamic Republic is situational and dictated more by its conjunctural goals, which are currently opposing NATO and the war in Ukraine.
“Russia's main focus is guaranteeing its interests in its relations with Washington, especially with regard to NATO's presence in Eastern Europe and Ukraine's potential membership in the alliance,“ told “Deutsche Welle“ Ahmad Vakhshiteh, lecturer at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) in Moscow. “Tehran may gain from this partnership, but Russia will ultimately put its strategic goals first.“
MILITARY COOPERATION AND TENSION
Pezeshkian's visit is a signal of a desire to deepen military ties with Russia, but Tehran must come to terms with the reality that Russian military support is not unconditional, “Deutsche Welle“ notes.
Behrouz Esbati, a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological arm of the Iranian armed forces, recently criticized Moscow's actions during critical military operations in Syria.
According to Esbati, Russia has repeatedly failed to provide vital logistical support and has even actively sabotaged Iranian operations, allowing Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets. in Syria.
FROM HISTORICAL ADVERSITIES TO ALLIES AND PARTNERS
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russia and Iran fought a series of wars that resulted in the Russian Empire conquering large areas of the Caucasus and Caspian region that had previously been under Persian rule, the Associated Press notes. In the early 20th century, Russian troops occupied large parts of northern Iran, but the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 ended their presence. During World War II, the Soviet Union and Britain jointly invaded Iran, a move that still stirs painful memories in Tehran.
During the Cold War, tensions rose dramatically when Iran was an ally of the United States under the Shah. After he was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, its leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, called the United States the "Great Satan" and the Soviet Union the "Iranian ally." “Little Satan“.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, relations between Russia and Iran warmed. Moscow became an important trading partner and a key supplier of military and high-tech goods to the Islamic Republic, which was isolated as a result of comprehensive international sanctions.
The current pact builds on an agreement more than 20 years old, concluded by the two countries in 2001. by the then reformist president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, which has been periodically renewed and serves as the basis for cooperation in the energy and defense sectors, notes “Deutsche Welle“.
The policy of Iranian President Pezeshkian ultimately fits into the strategic vision of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for Iran's diplomacy, which envisages prioritizing partnership with the East over that with the West.
This vision of Khamenei was publicly outlined by him in a statement in February 2018, and this practically concretizes Tehran's orientation towards countries such as Russia and China.
“In foreign policy, priority is given to the East over the West, neighbors over distant countries, countries with common (with us) interests over others“, the ayatollah said at the time.