“This is a threat to all countries, especially Russian Federation and Iran”, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said at the meeting on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) Summit in Tehran.
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“The conversation was of a very constructive nature”, Peskov said.
President Vladimir Putin has eased an export ban on nuclear equipment and technology to Iran, a Kremlin decree published on Monday showed, according to Reuters.
Putin, on his first visit to Iran since 2007, presented an old edition of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, to Khamenei, the Iranian leader’s website said, publishing photos of the book. “All that has been done in coordination with our Iranian partners, and without their help it would have been impossible, ” he said.
Putin’s arrival in Iran was eagerly anticipated, with the Etemad newspaper running a banner headline that announced “The Tsar of the East in the heart of Tehran” under a front-page picture of the Russian leader. “Under a long-term scheme, the Americans are determined to dominate Syria and then extend their control over the region [in a bid] to fill the historical void of not having dominance on West Asia, which this scheme poses a threat to all nations and countries, particularly Russian Federation and Iran”, he said.
Akhmetov does not rule out that Iran in the near future may try to increase its oil quota on the world market of fossil fuels, which will push oil prices down, thereby harming the interests of Russian Federation and other oil-producing countries.
The two leaders’ statements seem to counter the rumours about Iranian and Russian cooperation in Syria falling apart as a result of Moscow’s decision to step up its military intervention in Syria at the end of September.
What began as a conflict between Assad’s army and Western- and Gulf-backed rebels has since spiralled into a multi-faceted war that has killed more than 250,000.
Since the announcement of the deal, however, Russian Federation has wasted no time in re-energizing relations, declaring immediately that it would unfreeze a contract to supply Iran with advanced anti-aircraft missiles, which the USA fears could prevent a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
The former Soviet Union was the first state to recognize Iran as an Islamic republic after the 1979 revolution, though Moscow later provided Saddam Hussein with weapons during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
Iran, however, says only the Syrian people, not outside powers, can choose to dump Assad in elections following a ceasefire.
Iran has been preparing to see some sanctions gradually lifted in the coming months in accordance with a deal that was reached in July between the U.S., Iran and five major world powers.
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A diplomat was quoted by Iranian news agency Tasnim as saying: “The process of the S-300 system’s delivery to Iran has entered the implementation stage”.
