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Russia and Iran have agreed to closer military cooperation, in a move announced by President Masoud Pezeshkian during a visit to Moscow.
The two countries signed a 20-year “strategic cooperation” pact that covers areas ranging from defense and technology to energy and trade.
Iran already supplies Russia with drones and, according to Western intelligence, ballistic missiles.
Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran, along with China and North Korea, since the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the treaty, Russia and Iran pledged to consult and cooperate in countering military and security threats, as well as participate in joint military exercises on their territories and abroad.
They also agreed not to use their territories for actions that threatened the other side.
Iranian President Pezeshkian said that the signing of the agreement means that Russia and Iran were entering a new chapter in relations.
Trade between the two countries could improve significantly with more cooperation in the energy sector.
In a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country was considering building new nuclear power plants in Iran.
Moscow also wants to sell some of its surplus gas to Tehran. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU has significantly reduced gas imports from Russia, prompting Moscow to take on new customers.
A planned gas pipeline from Russia to Iran, which the countries are negotiating, will pass through the territory of Azerbaijan if implemented, the Interfax news agency reported on Friday, citing Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev.
Eventually, Russia could supply Iran with 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year, Putin said.
