A Month After Suspension of Previous Agreement, Russians Seek to Sign New 'Comprehensive' Agreement with the Islamic Republic

The state news agency IRNA reported on Wednesday, citing the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, that Moscow is planning to sign a 'comprehensive' cooperation agreement with Tehran. This comes about a month after the Russian state news agency reported the temporary suspension of the previous agreement due to internal issues in Iran. Andrei Rudenko, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, referred to Iran as 'one of Russia's most important friends' and stated that the new agreement 'which encompasses all areas of cooperation between the two countries' will serve as a foundation for long-term relations between Russia and Iran. Discussions about the new agreement arise while the previous comprehensive cooperation agreement between the two countries was mentioned during a meeting between Putin and Raisi in September 2022, but according to Russian officials, this agreement was temporarily suspended due to internal problems in Iran. The Islamic Republic and Russia had previously signed other cooperation agreements with each other. One of these agreements was signed in 2001 and was extended twice after its 10-year term ended. In 2020, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the then Iranian Foreign Minister, called for the extension of this contract and the conclusion of a comprehensive long-term strategic agreement during a visit to Moscow. However, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, criticized efforts to conclude long-term contracts with Russia and China without informing the public or obtaining parliamentary approval, stating, 'If the people of Iran do not agree, these contracts will never have legitimacy.' Despite these criticisms, it seems that Russia is still seeking to deepen its relations with the Islamic Republic, and the new cooperation agreement could be a sign of this approach.