Moscow-Tehran Cooperation Shows Need for Long-Term Strategic Ties

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Current level of cooperation between Moscow and Tehran provides for deeper long-term and strategic relations between the two counties, Iran's acting deputy oil minister responsible for commerce and international trade said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, adviser to Iran's supreme leader paid a four-day visit to Moscow, where he discussed a wide range of issues with the Russian senior officials. The Syrian crisis, oil trade and prices, Tehran's economic prospects and various bilateral issues were on the agenda.

"Russia-Iran cooperation has shed light on the need to develop long-term and strategic relations between the two countries," Masud Hashemian Esfahani told reporters in Moscow.

He underscored that Iran was a reliable partner and one of the "most stable, secure countries for investment in the Middle East."

In mid-2015, Iran and the P5+1 group of international mediators, comprising Russia, China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, signed the agreement, according to which Iran pledged to guarantee the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions against it being lifted.

In mid-January, the European Union and, in part, the United States, removed the economic sanctions imposed on Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verified Tehran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement.