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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.
A Dutch community remained in shock Saturday after a 13-year-old girl was detained following the discovery of her parents’ bodies in their home in the northern Netherlands.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency Saturday, empowering the military to clear road blockades after nearly 50 days of anti-government protests that have included widespread road blockades, leaving at least 14 people dead and crippling the nation’s economy.
A powerful thunderstorm system sweeping across Western Europe killed at least one person in the Netherlands, injured several others in Belgium and Germany, and caused widespread damage as nearly 190,000 lightning flashes illuminated the skies, authorities said Saturday.
Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire that took effect hours earlier, officials said, with Israel claiming it was responding to attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.
At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.
President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.
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