Russian and Iranian police officials met in Moscow to discuss further collaboration between the two police forces, Iranian state IRIB news agency reported on Saturday.
The agency reported that the meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Russian National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Russian National Guard director General Viktor Zolotov, and First Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Gorovoy.
Iran’s Chief of Police Sardar Ahmadreza Radan is said to have emphasized the importance of the two countries’ collaborative efforts with Patrushev. The outlet reported that Radan suggested that the collaborative efforts be extended to Brazil, India and China to enforce "collective security.’"
Patrushev was also said to have praised Iran for siding with Russia during "recent events," which could be taken to mean the ongoing invasion of Ukraine or the withdrawn coup attempt by the Wagner paramilitary group.
Iran supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation and considers the latest developments there an internal Russian matter, Iranian state media quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani as saying during the attempted revolt.
IRIB added that Radan and Patrushev agreed to accelerate cooperation in the fields of “combating terrorism, combating drug, weapons, and ammunition trafficking and effectively dealing with organized crime.”
The global impact of Iran’s friendship with Russia
In June, the United States reported that Russia received hundreds of one-way attack drones from Iran to use in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
"Russia has been using Iranian UAVs in recent weeks to strike Kyiv and terrorize the Ukrainian population, and the Russia-Iran military partnership appears to be deepening," White House spokesman John Kirby said in a statement.
"We are also concerned that Russia is working with Iran to produce Iranian UAVs from inside Russia."
"This is a full-scale defense partnership that is harmful to Ukraine, to Iran’s neighbors, and to the international community. We are continuing to use all the tools at our disposal to expose and disrupt these activities including by sharing this with the public – and we are prepared to do more."