IRNA reported on October 24 that Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali has said that the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia will sign comprehensive agreements for long-term cooperation, as well as bilateral agreements that include gas and corridor contracts.

In an interview with IRNA on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Jalali said Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again invited Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to officially visit Russia to sign a comprehensive cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Jalali mentioned that President Pezeshkian has asked him to prepare a number of bilateral agreements for signing.

Alongside the comprehensive agreement, several other documents also require the president’s signatures, including an agreement for the transfer of Russian gas to Iran and an agreement related to the North-South Corridor, he noted.

Iran’s Ambassador to Russia announced that the comprehensive agreement on Iran-Russia cooperation is ready to be signed, expressing hope that, in coordination with the President’s Office, steps will be taken to finalize additional agreements between Tehran and Moscow and determine the date for signing these documents during President Pezeshkian’s upcoming official visit to Russia in the coming months.

In response to a question about whether the agreement regarding the North-South Corridor includes new topics, Jalali stated, “No, this agreement aligns with the implementation of previous cooperation documents between the two countries and the construction of an extensive railway line, which has already been part of the agenda for both Iran and Russia.”

Some media outlets reported last month that Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 19 approved the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Tehran, reportedly describing it as “expedient” and to be signed “at the highest level.”  Putin reportedly hailed the “strategic” relations between Tehran and Moscow, which he said had grown stronger in recent years.

Agnes Helou of Breaking Defense wrote on July 1 that the comprehensive partnership agreement will “formalize” defense collaboration between Moscow and Tehran against Western security interests0

Tehran and Moscow signed a 20-year comprehensive agreement in 2001, and now both sides have agreed again to sign a new agreement.