Iran and Russia have developed “specific plans” for bolstering the two countries’ military and technical cooperation, says Iran’s defense minister.
Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan made the announcement following a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held on the sidelines of the 5th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS) in the Russian capital on Wednesday.
During the meeting “Russia and Iran reached… some agreements and drew up specific plans towards furthering military and technical cooperation,” he noted.
Referring to Iran’s historical nuclear agreement, Dehqan said “under the current conditions bright horizons can be drawn for strategic cooperation between the two countries in various fields.”
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries -- the UN Security Council's five permanent members; namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany, started implementing the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on January 16.
Dehqan noted that close cooperation between Tehran and Moscow will help return “stability and security” to the world and hasten the eradication of terrorism and the problems it creates.
In his turn, Shoigu stressed that Russia is ready for long-term cooperation with Iran in battling international terrorism.
"We want to develop ties with Tehran in this field. Russia’s Defense Ministry highly values constructive talks with Iran and we are sure that today’s negotiations will strengthen friendly relations between the two countries’ armed forces,” he added.
During his trip, Dehqan also held bilateral talks with his Armenian, Belarusian, and Pakistani counterparts.
Iran and Russia are already working together in the area of defense technology and strategy, and have been helping the Syrian government in its efforts to push back terrorist groups in the Arab country.