Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to sign the agreement in Moscow later, just days before Iran-hawk Donald Trump enters the White House.
Moscow has looked to the Islamic republic as a strategic ally since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, worrying Western officials who see both as malign actors on the world stage.
“This will give us the opportunity to give additional momentum to almost all areas of cooperation,“ Putin told Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, who replied that the text would become a “solid foundation” for relations.
‘constructive’ treaty
Iran has already supplied Russia with self-detonating “Shahed” drones that Moscow fires on Ukraine in nightly barrages, according to Ukrainian and Western officials. Both have ramped up their trade in response to Western sanctions.
Russia says its upcoming pact with Iran and the already-signed treaty with Pyongyang are “not directed against any country”.
It is set to be valid for 20 years, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Iranian ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made building ties with Iran, China and North Korea a cornerstone of his foreign policy as he seeks to challenge what he calls as a US-led “global hegemony”.
A rebel offensive overthrew Russian and Iranian-backed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month, and a war between Israel and Tehran-ally Hezbollah substantially weakened the Islamist militant group.
The US president-elect, who is seeking a rapid end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, has made repeated military threats against the Islamic republic.
In 2020, Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike in Iraq on Trump’s orders, prompting a wave of fury in Iran.
Trump last year warned the US would “wipe (Iran) off the face of the Earth” if a recent alleged Iranian plot to kill him had been succesful.
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