Russian parliament okays defense treaty with Iran

Russia’s lower house of parliament has voted to ratify a treaty to deepen political, military and economic ties with Iran.

Amid deepening military cooperation over the last three years, Iran has been accused by Kyiv and the West of supplying weapons, including self-detonating “Shahed” drones, to Russia for its campaign against Ukraine.

In the treaty, the sides agree to help each other counter common “security threats,” but it stops short of a mutual defense pact like the one signed between Russia and North Korea last year.

“The signing of the treaty does not mean the establishment of a military alliance with Iran or mutual military assistance,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko says in an address to the State Duma.

Instead, the treaty states that if either side is subjected to aggression, the other will not provide “assistance to the aggressor.”

The comprehensive strategic partnership deal was signed by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian in January, with votes in Moscow’s rubber-stamp parliament necessary before it can come into force.