By Pishtaz and AFP | 2023-09-20

Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Iran on Tuesday (September 19) for meetings to deepen Moscow's defense ties with Tehran, Russian news agencies reported.

The visit came as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi the same day accused the United States of worsening the Ukraine war but insisted that Tehran -- which has provided drones to Russia -- would back a peace settlement.

Observers noted the hypocrisy of Raisi's statements, delivered at the 78th United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York.

They pointed out that Russia continues to use Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, in its ongoing assaults on Ukraine that have regularly killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

Earlier this year, Iranian media reported that Tehran and Moscow are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia capable of manufacturing at least 6,000 Iran-designed drones.

These are intended to be used in Russia's war on Ukraine.

As part of the emerging military alliance between Moscow and Tehran, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia early this year to visit the proposed drone factory site in the town of Yelabuga, about 965km east of Moscow.

Moscow-Tehran alliance

Moscow has sought to strengthen its alliances with other countries ostracized by the West, including Iran, amid widespread opposition to its war on Ukraine.

"I consider our meeting as another step towards strengthening the strategic partnership between Russia and Iran," Shoigu said during his Tuesday meeting with Iranian armed forces chief of staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri.

"Today we have an opportunity to discuss in detail topical issues of bilateral military cooperation," he was quoted as saying by Russian agencies.

"Iran is Russia's strategic partner in the Middle East," he added.

Talks involved "development of defense diplomacy" and "management of common threats," according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

Despite Iran's growing involvement in the Ukraine war, Raisi insisted on his country's neutrality.

"We support any initiative for a cessation of hostilities and the war," Raisi said at the UN General Assembly.

Shoigu visited Iran while Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi paid a four-day visit to Moscow and after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un travelled by train to Russia's Far East for several days.

Iran is pursuing its recent "Looking East" policy through alliances with Russia and China in spite of ample evidence of its failure.

China withdrew from two oil field projects in Iran despite a 25-year agreement between the two countries and Raisi's ongoing efforts to court Chinese investment.

Meanwhile, "Russia has, time and again, turned its back on Iran and acted against its neighbor's interests," said an Iran-based politics professor.

"The Islamic Republic does not seem to learn its lesson -- neither from history, nor from the very recent past -- and continues to pursue its already failed 'Looking East' policy," he told Pishtaz.