Top Russian defense official in Tehran to cultivate stronger security ties
Ex-defense minister and head of national security council Sergei Shoigu to meet Pezeshkian, counterparts; Moscow condemned Haniyeh killing, relies on Iranian-made arms in Ukraine
Russia’s National Security Council secretary Sergei Shoigu arrived in Tehran Monday for a series of meetings with Iranian counterparts, Russian and Iranian news agencies reported, amid fears of a wider war in the region following last week’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
Russia’s state Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies reported that Shoigu, Russia’s former defense secretary, was scheduled to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian; the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Akbar Ahmadian; and chief of the Iranian military’s General Staff, Mohammad Bagheri.
The visit was at the invitation of Ahmadian, Iran’s local Tasnim news agency reported. It said the visit’s aim was “strengthening interactions, the examination of regional and international issues, and bilateral political security relations.”
Russia on Friday “strongly condemned” the killing of Haniyeh, head of the Hamas terror group’s Doha-based political bureau, in Tehran Wednesday. Moscow warned against “the extremely dangerous consequences of such actions.”
Diplomatic efforts have increased to avert an all-out war after Iran vowed to exact “harsh punishment” on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its part in the assassination. On Sunday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi made a rare visit to Tehran to discuss “regional developments.”
Pezeshkian has described Russia as a “valued strategic ally.” Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with the Islamic Republic.
Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.
The United States said in June that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way Iranian-made attack drones that it was using to strike Ukraine, something Moscow denies.
A July 19 Wall Street Journal report, which cited US officials, said Russia was considering supplying anti-ship missiles to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who like Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are part of the so-called Axis of Resistance network of Iranian proxies.
According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin has floated the idea in response to the White House’s approval for Ukraine to strike Russia using American-made arms. Two US officials indicated Russia would transfer arms to Yemen via Iranian smuggling routes.
The report came after an Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis killed one person and injured at least eight others in Tel Aviv.
Shoigu’s visit to one of Russia’s key political allies underlines his continued significant role even as he has faced criticism over military setbacks in Ukraine and members of his close circle appear to have fallen out of favor.
As defense minister, Shoigu visited Iran in September last year. Nikolai Patrushev, Shoigu’s predecessor at the Security Council and a longstanding ally of Putin, visited Iran in late 2022.
The former defense minister had been widely criticized for Russia’s setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine and was accused of incompetence and corruption by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who launched a brief mutiny in June 2023 to demand his dismissal. Prigozhin died in a plane crash two months later.
Shoigu was dismissed as defense minister in May, shortly after Putin’s inauguration for a new term.
Shoigu, a former general of Russia’s army who had personal ties with Putin, was given the high-profile post of secretary of Russia’s Security Council.
However, several top military officers who were members of Shoigu’s close entourage lost their jobs and many of them were arrested.
On Monday, the director of the Russian military’s main congress center and a top Defense Ministry official were arrested on fraud charges. Timur Ivanov, a top associate and deputy of Shoigu, has been jailed on bribery charges since April.
