Putin, Raisi meet, hail ties at decisive moment for Iran nuclear deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi hail their bilateral ties during a meeting in Moscow, as pressure mounts for a decision on the Iran nuclear deal.

Raisi says he presented Moscow with draft documents on strategic cooperation that would cement joint collaboration for the next two decades.

“We in Iran have no limits for expanding ties with Russia,” the Iranian leader says on his first state visit since taking office in August. He says Tehran wants to develop relations with Moscow that would “not be temporary, but permanent and strategic.”

“Today’s exceptional circumstances require significant synergy between our two countries against US unilateralism,” he says in televised remarks.

Putin praises the countries’ “close cooperation” on the international stage and says “it is very important for me to known your opinion on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

This is the ultraconservative Iranian president’s most significant visit abroad since he took over in August from moderate Hassan Rouhani, who was the last Iranian president to visit Russia in March 2017.