THERAN: Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts in Tehran on Tuesday for a tripartite summit about the violently divided country of Syria. Even though the CIA director acknowledged that the two countries have strained relations, the United States warned Iran on Wednesday that it risks becoming dependent on a separate Russia after welcoming President Vladimir Putin.
Putin traveled to Tehran on Tuesday for a three-way summit with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts about the violently divided country of Syria. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for "long-term cooperation" with Russia outside the summit, despite Tehran's decision to project neutrality by avoiding a critical UN vote condemning Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, told reporters that Iran "put on a lot of its own with a small number of countries that wore the veil of neutrality only to support President Putin in his war against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people."
Recently, an alleged intelligence display of Russian delegations visiting Iran to inspect combat drones was made public by the United States as part of its efforts to strengthen its arsenal against Western weapons in Ukraine.
However, Price indicated that Iran's compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, which President Joe Biden endorsed after being trashed by his predecessor Donald Trump, would lead to a new "economic relationship" with other countries around the world.
Iranian demands that Biden have contributed to the stalemate in talks by designating Trump's powerful Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
CIA chief Bill Burns, a former diplomat who assisted in brokering the Iran deal and served as ambassador to Moscow, said Iran and Russia were reaching out to each other mainly because they were both "political isolation". are looking to get out of" and are subject to sanctions despite US criticism of Iran's summit.
"But if they need each other, they don't really trust each other in the sense that they are energy rivals and historical rivals," Burns told the Aspen Security Forum.
Moscow has a long history of interfering in Iranian affairs; It captured the important northern city of Tabriz at the beginning of the 20th century and collaborated with the British to invade Iran in 1941.
US Warns Putin Ignoring His Own Talking points
Russia broadens its war plans for Ukraine as fatalities increase
Iran supports Putin as the US claims that Russia plans to invade more of Ukraine