By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/TEHRAN (Worthy News) – The world faced more security challenges Saturday after Russia and Iran signed a controversial 20-year “strategic partnership” that was due to worry Israel, Ukraine, and their Western allies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian agreed to deepen military ties between their countries through the accord.
Russian and Iranian officials stressed that the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty,” inked Friday in Moscow, also covers trade, science, culture, and education.
But the military part apparently keeps world leaders awake at night.
Russia and Iran agreed to increase cooperation in areas such as security services, military drills, warship port visits, and joint officer training.
According to the text, neither will allow its territory to be used for actions that threaten the other and will provide no help to an aggressor attacking either nation. The text also pledged that they would work on countering military threats.
But it did not yet include a mutual defense clause in a treaty between Russia and North Korea, which the West says has seen North Korean troops deployed to fight in Ukraine, something Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied.
ARMS TRANSFERS
Additionally, arms transfers, a topic of particular concern to the U.S. and its allies, were not specifically mentioned.
However, the two sides said they would develop “military-technical cooperation.”
It was unclear whether the transfer or sales of weapons to each other was deliberately kept under the radar at a time when thousands of Iran-made drones have reportedly been used in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Iran’s self-detonating “Shahed” drones were used by Moscow, especially in its nightly strikes on Ukraine, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
At a joint news conference with Pezeshkian in Moscow, Putin praised the deal as a “real breakthrough, creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran, and the entire region.”
Israel was due to monitor developments closely following its recent air strikes in Iran after Tehran had attacked the Jewish nation with missiles and drones.
Kyiv, which has asked for more Western military support, also raised concern over the military ties between Tehran and Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
MORE COOPERATION
Besides cooperation with Iran, Russia already deploys North Korean troops in its ongoing war against Ukraine, further internationalizing Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
Establishing closer ties with Iran, China, and North Korea is seen as part of Putin’s attempt to challenge what he views as “the U.S.-led “global hegemony.”
Pezeshkian, who spoke of a “new chapter” with Russia, visited Moscow while his Islamic Republic tackled major foreign policy setbacks.
These included a Syrian opposition offensive that toppled Syria’s longtime President Bashar al-Assad, a key Russian and Iranian ally, and the weakening of the Iran-aligned Lebanese armed Hezbollah group following a war with Israel.
The treaty was signed just days before Donald J. Trump’s return to power on January 20 as the 47th president of the United States.
The U.S. president-elect has threatened swift action to end conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.