Russia, Iran working on major ‘interstate agreement’ amid growing US concerns

Russia and Iran are working on a major new agreement which would further boost relations between the two, in a development that many predict will cause alarm amongst the United States and its allies.

According to a statement by Russia’s Foreign Ministry today, Moscow and Tehran are set to accelerate work on a “major new interstate agreement” following a phone call yesterday between their foreign ministers who agreed to continue and speed up work on the process.

The Russian Ministry did not reveal details regarding the nature and scope of the agreement, but noted that it is already at “a high stage of readiness”. It is set to further boost the two allies’ rapidly-expanding ties in the political, trade and military fields.

The announcement is the latest development between the two since Russian President, Vladimir Putin, last week held five hours of talks in the Kremlin with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi. Last month, the Kremlin also announced that Moscow and Tehran were developing their relations, “including in the field of military-technical cooperation”, possibly referring to Iran’s potential provision of ballistic missiles to Russia for the latter’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Those advancing relations between the two in recent months have especially caused concern for the US, with American officials revealing around last month’s development that Washington fears Tehran is preparing to provide Moscow with the ballistic missiles. Both Russia and Iran refused to comment on the US concerns, however, maintaining discretion regarding their agreements.

READ: Iran, Russia collaborate on joint research spacecraft