Bagheri: Change of Government in Iran Will Not Affect Tehran-Moscow Relations

Ali Bagheri Kani, the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, met and discussed with Andrei Rudenko, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, in Tehran. According to a report on Tuesday, July 5, by ISNA, the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry described the relations between Tehran and Moscow as strategic and expressed satisfaction with the finalization of the draft of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between the two countries. Ali Bagheri emphasized the 'importance and commitment of the leaders of both countries to deepen and expand relations' and stated: 'The change of government in Iran will not undermine this strategic approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran.' Early presidential elections are set to be held in Iran on Friday, July 8, due to the death of Ebrahim Raisi, the head of the thirteenth government, in a helicopter crash. While Ali Bagheri expressed satisfaction with the 'finalization' of the draft of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between Iran and Russia, a previous report had mentioned a 'temporary suspension' of this agreement. In mid-June, following the announcement of news regarding the temporary suspension of the 'comprehensive cooperation agreement between Iran and Russia,' which was denied by the Iranian ambassador in Moscow, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, announced that the agreement would be signed after 'administrative issues' were resolved by Tehran. Meanwhile, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister also stated on Tuesday that Moscow expects to sign a 'new agreement on comprehensive cooperation with Iran' very soon. Andrei Rudenko announced this in an interview with the state news agency 'RIA' of Russia. The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stated: 'We expect this agreement to be signed very soon, as work on the text is nearly complete and all necessary phrases have been found.' Russia and Iran signed a 20-year strategic agreement in 2001, which, according to the state news agency TASS of Russia, was automatically extended for five years in 2020. Both parties also agreed in 2020 to work on a new treaty to replace the old document. In September 2022, during a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi, both sides announced the signing of a significant new agreement between Moscow and Tehran. Despite these announcements, both parties have not been transparent about the details of this agreement. According to the text of this agreement published on the Kremlin's website, the 2001 treaty called for cooperation in security, energy projects, peaceful use of nuclear energy, and the construction of nuclear power plants. In recent years, especially after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia and Iran have expanded their relations, with the Islamic Republic providing numerous suicide drones to Russia, which has intensified sanctions against Tehran.