Putin hails ‘very close’ relationship with Iran in first meeting with new president

Moscow say the two leaders were scheduled to have ‘serious conversations’ about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, one that Iran is helping fund from Tehran

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian (L) attends a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin (R), in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan (EPA)

Russian president Vladimir Putin has hailed the country’s “very close” relationship with Iran in the first meeting with his newly-appointed counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

The sanctioned leaders held an inaugural meeting on the sidelines of a regional summit in Ashgabat, the capital of the Central Asian country Turkmenistan, to discuss - among other topics - the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

“We are actively working together in the international arena and our assessments of events taking place in the world are often very close,” Putin said during the meeting, according to Russian state media outlet Tass.

Footage showed the Russian leader arriving in the Turkmen capital in his black bullet-proof Aurus Senat limousine, despite the late father of the country’s current president Serdar Berdymukhamedov, who he met immediately after departing from his vehicle, banning black cars in 2015. The dictator reportedly banned the colour because he believed it was unlucky.

It comes against the backdrop of Russia and Iran’s growing military relationship, as Moscow continues its war of aggression against Ukraine and Tehran funds anti-Israel proxies across the Middle East, including Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.

Iran recently supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles for Moscow to use in its war against Ukraine and had already transferred thousands of deadly “Shahed” kamikaze drones, which Moscow has been using to target civilian areas across Ukraine, as well as building a drone factory in Russia.

Recent reports have also suggested that Russia could be involved in arms transfers to the Houthis in Yemen. Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer who was exchanged in a prisoner swap for American basketball star Brittney Griner, has reportedly been involved in brokering the sale of $10 million (£7.6 million) worth of weapons to the Iran-backed rebels. Bout has denied this.

Putin, whose country is hosting a summit of the BRICS nations, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in Kazan on 22 - 24 October, invited Pezeshkian to come to Russia on an official visit, a proposal the Iranian leader accepted according to Russia’s state RIA news agency.

Ahead of the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the agenda will focus on “primarily bilateral Russian-Iranian relations,” according to Tass.

“But, of course, the situation in the Middle East will not be ignored, it will also be on the agenda,” he reportedly said. “In any case, there will be a serious conversation.”

“Economically and culturally, our communications are being strengthened day by day and becoming more robust,” Pezeshkian was cited as telling Putin by Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

“The growing trend of cooperation between Iran and Russia, considering the will of the top leaders of both countries, must be accelerated to strengthen these ties,” he said.

Pezeshkian last month committed his country to deeper ties with Russia to counter Western sanctions. The two countries say they are close to signing a strategic partnership agreement, something Pezeshkian said on Friday he hoped could be finalised at the BRICS summit in Russia later this month.

The Russian foreign ministry has hailed these meetings as evidence that Russia-Iran relations are at an “all-time high,” Tass reported.