Iranian president-elect assures Putin of continued partnership, Russia reports

Iran's newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed Tehran's alliance with Moscow in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on July 9, according to the Russian state-controlled news outlet TASS and statements from the Kremlin.

Pezeshkian won Iran's runoff election on July 5, defeating hard-liner Saeed Jalili. Internationally recognized monitors were not present to verify the results or guarantee the fairness of the election.

Iran is prepared to sign "a comprehensive strategic partnership" agreement with Russia at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October, Pezeshkian reportedly told Putin.

Putin congratulated Pezeshkian on his electoral victory and both leaders affirmed their satisfaction with Russian-Iranian relations, according to Russian reports.

The runoff election was triggered by the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi and his foreign minister in a helicopter crash on May 19.

Iran is one of Russia's closest allies on the international stage. The two countries have only deepened their military and political cooperation since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Notably, Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones since the start of the all-out war. In February, Reuters also reported that Tehran sent "a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles" to aid Moscow's invasion.

US efforts to sanction Russia, Iran hampered by desire to keep gas prices low, sources tell WSJ

″(President Joe Biden) has wanted to do everything that he could to make sure that American consumers have the lowest price possible at the pump, as it affects families’ daily lives,” a senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal.

The Kyiv IndependentNate Ostiller