Iranian president Pezeshkian to visit Russia

TEHRAN: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on January 17 to sign a cooperation deal, Iranian media reported.

“The president will visit Russia on January 17 and the cooperation agreement between the two countries will be signed during the visit,” Tasnim news agency reported, quoting Iran´s ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali.

Russia and Iran are both under international sanctions that restrict trade, but they have forged strong ties in various sectors, including military cooperation.

Ukraine and its allies in many Western capitals have accused Tehran of supplying Moscow with weapons for use in the Russia-Ukraine war.

On Monday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Transport Vitaly Savelyev was in Tehran and met Pezeshkian. The two discussed the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, which runs through Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The railway is part of a larger project, the International North-South Transport Corridor, intended to connect India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and other countries.

The two presidents last met during the BRICS summit in Kazan in October.