Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week and called for closer ties between Tehran and Moscow. The countries already have warm ties, and Iran has supplied Russia with drones that it has used in deadly attacks in Ukraine.
Their phone call took place after Putin was reelected in an election that was never in doubt. Raisi praised Putin for his reelection and expressed “hope that [Putin’s] new term would provide a suitable ground for the promotion of relations between Tehran and Moscow,” Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.
Raisi highlighted “the significance of joint bids in regional organizations like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, as well as ongoing projects such as the Rasht-Astara railway connecting two Iranian and Russian cities to enhance economic ties,” the report said.
Iran and Russia are seeking a new world order to confront the West and create a multipolar world after decades of US hegemony in the wake of the Cold War. Iran has joined groups such as BRICS and the SCO to work more closely with Russia and China.
Raisi also discussed Armenia and Azerbaijan with Putin and said he wants to maintain “regional stability” and Iran’s strategic interests, Fars reported.
“Tehran and Moscow enjoy common interests in economic, military, and security affairs, as well as a friendly relationship, [and] pursue common policies on regional and international developments, especially when it comes to taking stances in the face of the United States’ unilateral and interventionist strategies,” the report said.
Iran has been steadily expanding its nuclear and drone capabilities
Their phone conversation is important and reflects the deepening ties between Russia and Iran. Iran and Russia are also working on other issues that may have a wider effect in the Middle East. For instance, Iran is developing longer-range and more precise missiles. Its nuclear program also is continuing. In addition to the drone program, there is increased evidence of wider Iranian drone exports.
Iran recently said it has created an indigenous local production line for drone engines. In addition, the Shahed 136 drone that Iran provides to Russia has also become a staple of Russia’s war effort and has its own production line that enables many more of them to be built.
The Ukraine war is absorbing large amounts of munitions, and thousands of drones are part of this new method of war. Tehran is riding a wage of success in this regard. Iran can then use this success in ties with Russia to back its proxies in the region and threaten Israel. Russia and Iran both have close ties with Hamas.