Velayati: Putin Promised $50 Billion Investment in Iran

Ali Akbar Velayati, the international affairs advisor to the Leader of Iran, who traveled to Moscow, delivered messages from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and also from Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, to Vladimir Putin on Thursday, July 12. Iranian media did not mention the contents of the messages from their leader and president to Mr. Putin, but the Russian news agency Sputnik quoted Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stating that the texts of these messages "related to bilateral relations and the regional situation." He did not provide further details. According to reports, Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and several other senior Russian officials attended Mr. Putin's meeting with the Iranian special envoy at the Kremlin. Ali Akbar Velayati himself described his mission before starting his trip to Moscow as "strategic" and significant to the extent of "a turning point in the strategic relations between the two countries." After his meeting with the Russian president, Mr. Velayati stated in an interview with Iran's state television that the Iranian leader has "long viewed the relations between Iran and Russia as a strategic relationship, and this policy is pursued under the leadership's oversight, and Mr. Putin also believes in this." According to the special envoy of the leader and president of Iran, there was a consensus in his negotiations with Mr. Putin that "regional cooperation between Moscow and Tehran" should continue to "support the legitimate governments of Iraq and Syria, both in defense and political domains." Although Mr. Velayati did not provide many details about "Iran and Russia's support in defense and political areas" for Iraq and Syria, the Fars news agency quoted him on Wednesday stating that "the cooperation that has taken place in the region between the resistance front led by Iran and Russia against terrorism and its sponsors in Syria and other countries in the region is an exemplary model of cooperation between Iran and Russia that can only be justified by a strategic and long-term relationship." The meeting between the Russian president and the Iranian special envoy occurred one day after Vladimir Putin's meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, at the Kremlin. Netanyahu and Velayati were both in Moscow on Wednesday, but the Iranian envoy deemed the simultaneous presence with the Israeli Prime Minister as insignificant. Iran and Russia have been two main pillars supporting Bashar al-Assad's regime in the Syrian civil war; however, Iran's military presence in Syria has faced strong opposition from Israel in the past two years, and this country has carried out numerous attacks targeting Iranian and Syrian sites with the intention of damaging Iran's military infrastructure in Syria. After the Putin-Netanyahu negotiations on Wednesday evening, Reuters quoted a senior Israeli official stating that the Israeli Prime Minister proposed to the Russian president that Israel should not interfere with the survival of Bashar al-Assad's regime, but Russia should expel Iran from Syria. Recently, Israel has also publicly acknowledged attacks on targets belonging to the Syrian army; Netanyahu defended the downing of a Syrian army drone that entered Israeli airspace on Wednesday. After downing the drone, Israel conducted airstrikes on several Syrian army fortifications in the southern Quneitra province. However, Syria, with the help of Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah, has recently made significant military advancements in reclaiming important parts of southern Syria. Sergey Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, also warned both Iran and Israel on Wednesday against the use of military force in Syria. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, is set to meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki, Finland, following his trip to Europe and participation in the NATO summit in Brussels and meetings in Britain; according to Israeli media, ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting, coordination with the U.S. and Russia against Iran's military presence and its Shiite allies in Syria has been significant for Netanyahu's government. According to the Jerusalem Post, Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized on Thursday, after returning from his trip to Moscow, the "full coordination of his country with the U.S." regarding Syria. Meanwhile, according to Ali Akbar Velayati, the issue of bilateral cooperation and Iran's economic affairs with Russia was raised during his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. According to Tasnim, Velayati quoted the Russian president as saying that Moscow does not recognize U.S. sanctions against Iran that are not approved by the Security Council and "gives Iran the right regarding the JCPOA." According to Velayati, trade exchanges between Iran and Russia grew by 36% in the first four months of 2018, and Russia is ready to invest $50 billion in Iran's energy sector, with Putin emphasizing nuclear cooperation and the North-South corridor. Ali Akbar Velayati expressed satisfaction with the cooperation of Russian companies "Rosneft" and "Gazprom" with Iran. This comes as the Russian company Lukoil recently halted its cooperation with Iran due to U.S. sanctions; Lukoil, the second-largest oil producer in Russia, made the decision to exit Iran while negotiating with Iran to develop several Iranian oil fields. According to Mr. Velayati, Vladimir Putin will "soon" visit Iran, although he did not mention a possible date for such a trip, and the initial statement from the Kremlin spokesman did not refer to this matter. Iranian media have reported that Velayati, after his negotiations with Russian officials that continue until Friday, will likely also go to China.