Iranian media reports say Iranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, heading a high-ranking delegation, arrived in Dushanbe on October 17. 

At Dushanbe International Airport Iranian defense minister was reportedly met by his Tajik counterpart Sherali Mirzo, the first deputy Tajik defense minister, Iran’s ambassador to Tajikistan and other senior officials.  

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reports that meetings with Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo and President Emomali Rahmon, holding talks on security and defense issues, and following up the bilateral defense agreements between Iran and Tajikistan are among General Ashtiani’s agenda during this visit.

Recall, Iran’s Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, Major-General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, heading a high-profile delegation visited Dushanbe in May last year to discuss issues of expanding military cooperation with Tajikistan.  During the visit, General Baqeri inaugurated an Iranian factory manufacturing Ababil-2 military drones in Dushanbe May 17, 2022.

Some experts note that Bagheri’s visit to Tajikistan heralded the beginning of a new era of defense cooperation between the two countries as they seek to tackle fresh challenges in the region.

A week later, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon paid an official visit to Iran and signed 17 cooperation agreements.  The documents entail political, economic and trade cooperation between Tehran and Dushanbe, relations in the transportation sector, joint investment, new technologies, environmental issues, the energy sector, sports interaction, judicial cooperation, research and training, as well as the tourism industry.

In June 2022, , Deputy Iranian Interior Minister for Security and Police Affairs Sayed Majid Mirahmadi, visited Dushanbe to attend the first meeting of the joint security task force between Iran and Tajikistan.

In September this year, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi held talks in New York on the margins of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. 

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the two presidents discussed further expansion of the bilateral cooperation and a number of topical and regional issues being of mutual interest.

The parties also discussed cooperation between the two countries within international and regional organizations.  

Besides, Rahmon and Raisi exchanged views “on a tendency of increasing modern challenges and threats such as terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and cybercrime, which create serious problems for the security of the countries.”

It was emphasized that Tajikistan and Iran, as the closest neighbors, are interested in restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan. 

IRNA reports that the two presidents stressed that holding intergovernmental committees to combat terrorism, ensure tranquility in Afghanistan, and prevent foreigners’ interference is an important measure to bring about sustainable security in the region.