In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi reminded his Russian counterpart on Wednesday that Tehran had been “resisting America for 40 years.”
And now that Russia was plunging deeper into its own confrontation with the United States, Raeisi told Putin in televised remarks, it was time to take on “the power of the Americans with an increased synergy between our two countries.
Iran's president started a two-day trip to Moscow on Wednesday designed to demonstrate tightening bonds between two countries, increasingly, along with China, a single adversary: the United States.
For Putin, embroiled in a dispute with the United States and facing sanctions if he follows military measures on Ukraine, it was a chance to show that Russia has friends it can call on in its battles with the West.
In keeping with that message, the visit will include an address by Raeisi to Russia’s State Duma, a rare honor for a visiting leader.
Raeisi nevertheless voiced tacit support for Mr. Putin in Ukraine, and Iran’s foreign minister emphasized that the two presidents had agreed on the “framework” of an agreement governing increased economic and military cooperation.
But along with an upcoming joint drill of Iran, China, and Russia dubbed as "2022 Marine Security Belt", the Kremlin appeared intent on sending a message that it was continuing to foster new ties that could serve as a counterweight to the West.
Iran, too, is signaling that it also has alternatives if Western sanctions are not removed.
“On the international arena, we are cooperating very closely,” Putin told Raeisi, noting the crises in Syria and Afghanistan, and pledging to bring Iran closer to the Russia-led trade bloc known as the Eurasian Economic Union.
RHM/PR
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