Amid Rising Tensions Between Tehran and the West Over Military Cooperation with Moscow: Behdaripour to Meet Putin

The ambassador of the Islamic Republic in Moscow announced on Sunday that Masoud Behdaripour, the President of the 14th government of the Islamic Republic, is set to participate in the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia. According to the state media of the Islamic Republic, Kazem Jalali stated that Behdaripour will attend this summit, which is scheduled to be held from October 22 to 24 in Kazan, Russia. He mentioned that Behdaripour is also expected to meet with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. The announcement of Behdaripour's trip to Russia comes amid rising tensions between the Islamic Republic and the West over military cooperation with Moscow and during the ongoing military invasion of Ukraine by Putin. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Tuesday that Russia has received ballistic missiles from the Iranian government and is likely to use them against Ukraine within weeks. He added that cooperation between Moscow and the Islamic Republic poses a broader threat to European security. In response to the Islamic Republic's decision to deliver missiles to Russia, the U.S. and three of its European allies - Germany, Britain, and France - imposed new sanctions last Tuesday. One day later, Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, denied the shipment of missiles from Iran to Russia. During Behdaripour's visit, a comprehensive bilateral cooperation document between Tehran and Moscow is also set to be signed. This document is to be signed while Russia's positions regarding the Zangezur corridor or in relation to the three Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf have sparked various protests in Iran. Iranian officials have also repeatedly discussed the finalization of the purchase of advanced Sukhoi aircraft from Russia, but no reports of the delivery of these aircraft to Tehran have been published so far. The Guardian recently reported that Britain and the U.S. have expressed concern over the potential exchange of nuclear technology and knowledge from Russia in exchange for ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic. The G7 condemned the delivery of ballistic missiles from the Iranian government to Russia. Reuters reported that a new suicide drone from Russia has been produced using Chinese-made parts. The delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia has been described by the European Union as a 'direct threat' against them, with new actions against the Islamic Republic on the horizon.