Russia voices commitment to military cooperation with Iran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s continued commitment to military-technical cooperation with Iran, stressing that such collaboration fully complies with international law and post-sanctions frameworks.
Speaking at a meeting with Arab journalists, Lavrov noted that following the lifting of UN Security Council restrictions, Russia faces no legal barriers in developing defense cooperation with Iran. He emphasized that Moscow provides Tehran with the defense equipment it requires “in full conformity with international law,” RIA Novosti reported.
The Russian top diplomat’s remarks came in response to a question about the supply of S-400 systems and fighter jets to Iran.
Without addressing specific details, Lavrov underlined that all aspects of Russia’s cooperation with Iran are conducted transparently and within legal parameters.
At the instigation of European governments, the United Nations reinstated an arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program on September 27. Russia has said it does not recognize the move.
In an interview with RT last week, the Russian top diplomat denounced the Western countries’ move to reimpose sanctions on Iran as “utterly outrageous,” saying, “They punished a country that had not violated a thing.”
“The idea of re-imposing the sanctions which the West is trying to present as a legitimate legal procedure is utterly outrageous.”
On September 19, the 15-member Security Council failed to adopt a resolution that would have prevented the re-imposition of UN sanctions on Iran after the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal — France, Germany and Britain — triggered the “snapback” mechanism and accused Tehran of failing to comply with the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The United States unilaterally abandoned the deal in 2018, and Europe failed to deliver on its commitments. Iran gradually reduced its obligations, while Western powers escalated pressure. In August, the European trio invoked the snapback mechanism to restore sanctions, a move Iran rejected as illegitimate.
The sanctions will again freeze Iranian assets abroad, halt arms deals with the Islamic Republic and target the country’s defensive missile program.