Why did Velayati meet with Putin?
Despite points of disagreement on specific issues, Iran and Russia seem to be working diligently to develop a deep and strategic friendship.
Over the last few months, the Russians appear to be signaling a green light for a deeper relationship with Iran. In fact, after feeling the bitter taste of sanctions on Moscow, Iran and Russia, which have their own disagreements on various issues, are turning into close and strategic friends. More delegations are meeting between these two archenemies of the 19th century, including a recent visit to Iran by the Russian defense minister and the announcement of a “hopeful” solution to the S300 missile dispute, a deal Iran has paid for but Russia has not yet delivered on.
Hassan Beheshti Pour, the ex-chairman of Iran’s Al-Alam TV, told Al-Monitor, “The West’s sanctions against Moscow over the annexation of Crimea to Russia is one of the main reasons for [President Vladimir] Putin approaching Tehran.”
Beheshti Pour added, “Prior to imposing sanctions against Russia, Moscow wasn’t willing to get close to Iran, believing this friendship would have repercussions for them, as the United States is sensitive to this sort of relationships, but now everything has changed and Russians have been placed on the sanctions list of the US and its partners. Therefore, they are not worried about their past concerns.”
On Jan. 28, Ali Akbar Velayati, the moderate conservative rival of Hassan Rouhani in the 2013 presidential election, led a high-level Iranian delegation to Russia. While visiting Moscow, Velayati, who is the foreign policy adviser of Iran’s supreme leader, held a series of meetings with Russian officials and Putin himself.
