MOSCOW
\nA treaty that Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly will include closer defense cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
\nMilitary ties between the two countries are a source of deep concern to the West as Russia wages war in Ukraine while Iran and Israel have exchanged missile and air strikes in the Middle East.
\n\u201cThe treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran that is being prepared will become a serious factor in strengthening Russian-Iranian relations,\u201d Lavrov told state television.
\nHe said the agreement was being prepared for signing \u201cin the near future.\u201d Russia has said it expects Iran\u2019s President Masoud Pezeshkian to visit Moscow before the end of the year.
\n\u201cIt will confirm the parties\u2019 desire for closer cooperation in the field of defense and interaction in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global levels,\u201d Lavrov said. He did not specify what form the defense ties would take.
\nRussia has deepened its ties with Iran and North Korea, which are both strongly antagonistic toward the United States, since the start of its war with Ukraine.
\nPresident Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a similarly titled \u201ccomprehensive\u201d treaty in June, including a mutual defense clause, and the US and NATO say Pyongyang has sent some 10,000 soldiers to Russia for possible deployment in the war.
\nRussia has not denied their presence, and says it will implement the treaty as it sees fit.
\nThe United States accused Tehran in September of delivering close-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine, and imposed sanctions on ships and companies it said were involved in delivering Iranian weapons.
\nTehran denies providing Moscow with the missiles or with thousands of drones that Kyiv and Western officials have said Russia uses against military targets and to destroy civilian infrastructure, including Ukraine\u2019s electrical grid.
\nThe Kremlin declined to confirm its receipt of Iranian missiles but acknowledged that its cooperation with Iran included \u201cthe most sensitive areas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MOSCOW A treaty that Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly will include closer defense cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday. Military ties between the two countries are a source of deep concern to the West as Russia wages war in Ukraine while Iran and Israel have exchanged missile and air strikes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440862,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-440833","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n