The sanctioned leaders of Russia and Iran met amicably at a time when the Middle East is preparing for Israel’s reaction to Iran’s biggest missile attack ever last week. During the meeting, Putin said that he and Pezeshkian have a very close worldview.
The regional summit in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s capital, is occurring against the backdrop of growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
US officials have stated that Iran established a drone factory in Russia and has also supplied thousands of “Shahed” attack drones to Russia. As part of its military buildup against Ukraine, Russia has received short-range ballistic missiles from Iran.
Putin declared during the historic meeting, as reported by the Russian state media outlet TASS, that “we are actively collaborating in the international arena, and our assessments of global events are frequently identical.”
Russia and Iran have effectively formed a military alliance in the region to back President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
