Russia's Shoigu talks with Iran security chief, condemns foreign interference, Interfax reports
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FILE PHOTO: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu arrives at the Kremlin before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Astapkovich/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo
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MOSCOW, Jan 12 - Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council, condemned in a conversation on Monday with a senior Iranian official what he described as a new attempt by foreign powers to interfere in Iran's internal affairs, Interfax news agency reported.
Interfax said Shoigu spoke to Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's National Security Council, and expressed condolences over the large number of deaths in countrywide protests.
"The secretary of Russia's National Security Council firmly condemned the latest attempt by foreign forces to interfere in Iran's internal affairs," Interfax quoted Russia's Security Council press service as saying.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that the U.S. and Israel wanted to "sow chaos and disorder" in Iran by ordering what he called riots. Iran said on Monday it was keeping communications open with the U.S.
The Russian statement said Shoigu expressed his readiness to develop cooperation on the basis of a strategic partnership treaty signed by Tehran and Moscow in 2025.
"The two sides agreed to continue their contacts and coordinate their positions with the aim of strengthening security," the statement said.
Iran's leaders are facing demonstrations that have evolved from complaints about economic hardship to calls for the fall of the entrenched clerical establishment.
The U.S.-based rights group HRANA said it had verified the deaths of 572 people. Reuters was unable to independently verify the tallies.
Russia and Iran have developed closer ties since the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
President Vladimir Putin and Pezeshkian signed a 20-year strategic partnership pact last year that deepened military ties and boosted cooperation in a range of areas. But it did not include a mutual defence clause of the kind included in a treaty between Russia and North Korea. REUTERS
