Just before President-elect Trump heads back to the Oval Office, two of America’s adversaries are strengthening their relationship. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled to meet in Moscow to finalize a partnership treaty.
Pezeshkian, who became Iran’s president after winning the July runoff election, will hold discussions with Putin and take part in signing the partnership agreement during his initial visit to Moscow as president.
“Iran is a significant partner for us, and we are expanding our cooperation in various areas,” stated Kremlin representative Dmitry Peskov to the media, as reported by Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands as they meet in Moscow, Russia Jan. 17, 2025. (REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina)
Russia and Iran’s leaders are expected to discuss the development of transit corridors for trade and energy negotiations, Bloomberg reported. While Iran is looking to become a hub for Russian gas, there aren’t signs that the two have made substantial progress on the project, Bloomberg added.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan recently claimed that the Biden administration is leaving Russia, China and Iran “weaker” ahead of Trump’s return to Washington, even as the Kremlin makes its own moves on the world stage.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during a signing ceremony following bilateral talks in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Sputnik/Kristina Kormilitsyna/Kremlin via REUTERS)
“We’ve seen […] Russia try, in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
He added that the US will “do everything we can to cut off the support that countries, like Iran and North Korea, are providing.”
