Vladimir Putin has just made it clear Russia’s relationship with Iran is only getting stronger, as the two countries have “very close” world views, according to the Russian president.
Putin met with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, for the first time on Friday in Turkmenistan and they posed for several photos together.
While the countries were already on good terms – Russia has reportedly bought hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles to use against Ukraine in recent months, although Tehran denies it – the presidents clearly hit it off, judging from their comments.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, Putin said: “We are actively working together on the international arena and our assessments of current events in the world are often very close.”
Meanwhile, according Iran’s official IRNA news agency and Reuters, Pezeshkian told Putin: “Economically and culturally, our communications are being strengthened day by day and becoming more robust.
“The growing trend of cooperation between Iran and Russia, considering the will of the top leaders of both countries, must be accelerated to strengthen these ties.”
He added that their countries could help one another, and, echoing Putin, said: “Our positions in the world are much closer to each other than to others.”
TASS also reported that Pezeshkian had described Iran-Russia relations as “strategic and sincere”.
Iran and Russia already said they were close to signing a strategic partnership agreement last month.
The Iranian leader has since claimed he wants to finalise that deal at the BRICS summit in Russia in a few weeks.
The growing alliance is a major concern to those in the West, considering they are both either – directly or indirectly – involved in a major war right now, and could sign a nuclear deal.
Iran is known to be funding militant groups across the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah, who do not believe Israel should exist.
These Iranian proxies have been fighting Israel in multiple places across the region over its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza since last year.
Meanwhile, Putin has often spoken out against the Gaza war, too saying it is the “total destruction of a civilian population” and blaming the US for its failed peace policies.
Putin is also waging his own war against the Ukrainians after invading the country almost three years ago in what the West has condemned as a land grab.
Iran has diplomatically and militarily supported Russia ever since it crossed Ukraine’s borders in February 2022.
The Russian president also used the Turkmenistan conference to claim a new world order was emerging.
He said, “Russia is in favour of the widest possible international discussion on the parameters of interaction in the emerging multipolar world.”
He suggested Moscow would be “open to discussing the issues of building a new world order with all our friends, partners and like-minded people”.
He did not directly address either the conflicts in the Middle East or the Ukraine war, but said “the world is facing unprecedented threats caused by civilisational fractures, inter-ethnic and inter-confessional conflicts”.