Yanavryov wrote that during a four-day visit to Russia, Baqeri discussed the strengthening of military-technical cooperation which became possible thanks to the lifting of international restrictions on the supply of arms to the Islamic Republic.
The military leader called the defense interaction with Moscow wide in scale, the researcher said, but he also listed quite specific areas where relations between the countries are of a competitive nature.
Yanvaryov cited experts saying that the visit mainly determined the fate of arms contracts between the countries, but at the same time was intended to send a political message to critics of Tehran and Baqeri made it clear that Iran was interested in the implementation of agreements concluded earlier with Russia on the supply of fighters, training aircraft and military helicopters at this stage.
Nevertheless, in his interview to the TV channel Russia 24, Bagheri also mentioned the areas where the nature of relationship between the Russian Federation and Iran is rather competitive.
I think in the long term we are strategic partners and share common views on many issues and if there is a competition between Iran and Russia, it is perhaps in the field of oil and gas trade, which both countries are so rich in, the military leader said, according to Yanvaryov.
By and large, interaction with Russia in Iran is not seen as a kind of geopolitical approach in one direction, the Russian researcher noted, pointing to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian summing up the results of his recent trip to Russia, Lebanon and Syria as saying that the focus of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran on strengthening ties with countries like Russia and China does not mean at all that its relations with Western capitals should be completely curtailed.
Yanvaryov cited a study by the American research institute RAND that has called the tactical partnership between Iran and Russia a forced cooperation.
The researcher cited an interview from military expert Yuri Lyamin saying that Baqeri’s visit to Russia also carried a certain political signal of a political support for Tehran from Moscow.
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