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Times of Israel
Iranian officials quoted by The New York Times say Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran, after officials in Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms.
The report comes as Iranian state media report that the country’s new President Masoud Pezeshkian told a visiting senior ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin that Tehran is determined to expand relations with its “strategic partner Russia.”
“Russia is among the countries that have stood by the Iranian nation during difficult times,” Pezeshkian told Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s security council, in a meeting, Iranian state media report.
In further comments reported during the meeting with Shoigu, Pezeshkian said Israel’s “criminal actions” in Gaza and the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week “are clear examples of the violation of all international laws and regulations.”
Russia, which has largely backed Hamas and allied terror groups since the October 7 massacre, has condemned the killing of Haniyeh and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.
Shared positions between Iran and Russia “in promoting a multipolar world will certainly lead to greater global security and peace,” Pezeshkian is quoted saying.
Shoigu was Russia’s defense minister before being moved to the security council in May. He was shown earlier by Russia’s Zvezda television meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.