Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev continued meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran on the second day of his visit to Tehran on Thursday, discussing his country's trade and economic cooperation with Iran.

What happened: Tsivilev met on Thursday with the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi. He stressed the need for Tehran and Moscow to increase economic and defense cooperation, particularly in light of Western sanctions, state-run IRNA news agency reported.

They also discussed the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June, with Mousavi praising Russia’s “very firm and solid” position at the United Nations condemning the Israeli attacks on Iran. He was referring to Russian envoy to the UN Vassily Nebenzia denouncing the attacks on "peaceful civilian nuclear facilities" at a UN Security Council meeting on June 20.

Tsivilev arrived in Tehran on Wednesday at the head of a delegation that included Alexei Miller, chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, Russia's largest state-owned energy company. The delegation then sat down with Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad.