The New York Times:

By Ivan Nechepurenko and Farnaz Fassihi

President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir V. Putin, signed a major cooperation treaty on Friday in the Kremlin, solidifying an alliance between two countries driven by mutual desire to challenge the West.

The treaty was the latest Russia has signed with a country that is engaged in a conflict with Western states since Moscow invaded Ukraine almost three years ago, and represents an effort to improve its global standing before the start of the second Trump presidency.

Iran and Russia have been subjected to numerous sanctions by the West, and trade and finance are at the forefront of the treaty signed Friday.

The published agreement covers military issues and specifies that in case either Iran or Russia are attacked, the treaty signatories would not give any military or other aid to the aggressor that “would facilitate the continuation of the aggression.”

But in contrast to the accords that Moscow has signed with other allies, the deal with Iran stops short of including a mutual defense clause, according to Iran’s ambassador to Moscow.

“Our country’s independence and security, as well as self-reliance, are very important,” Kazem Jalali, the ambassador, told IRNA, an Iranian news agency, according to TASS. “We are not interested in joining any bloc.”

Speaking in the Kremlin after the meeting, Mr. Putin said that the agreement with Iran creates “additional, significant, serious basis to build mutual relations based on trust.”

“For a long time, we have been coordinating our efforts on the international arena,” Mr. Putin said during a news conference.

But analysts of Russian policy in the Middle East said the treaty only formalizes the existing state of affairs in a region where Russia has to be careful to remain friendly with various players that are at odds with each other.

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