Yesterday, Iran and Russia signed a military cooperation deal hailed by Iran as an apposite response to US interference. The deal was signed by Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s Defence Minister, and Hossein Dehqan, Iran’s Defence Minister. Sergei Shoigu is the most high-ranking Russian official to visit Iran since 2002.
Both Iran and Russia face Western sanctions and the signing of the deal bolsters their geopolitical significance in a volatile and troubled region. According to the deal, both nations will conduct joint military drills as well as cooperatively stabilize regional and global security in addition to fighting separatism and curtailing erosive foreign interference. According to the Government of Iran , the deal also aims to provide an agreeable framework in which both countries can combat extremism and the spread of venomous takfiri ideology.
Both nations are wary of US global strategy and their shared analysis indicates that the interference of the US in regional and international affairs negatively impacts their national interests.
Russia is Iran’s leading foreign arms supplier but their military cooperation was strained in 2010 when Israel and the US coerced Russia to cancel the contract of supplying advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Iran. Iran would later on demand a $4billion compensation for the abrupt termination of the $800 million deal. However, on Tuesday 20th January, the Iranian Defence Ministry confirmed that the problems regarding the S-300 deal had been resolved amicably.
Both Russia and Iran support the government of Bashar Al Assad in its current conflict with a diverse and squabbling coalition of jihadists, secular rebels and foreign saboteurs.
