TEHRAN – Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh met his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, in Moscow on Monday for discussions centered on enhancing bilateral military and defense cooperation.

The meeting, signals a further deepening of strategic ties between the two nations.

Iran's Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali announced the meeting, stating that the talks specifically focused on “reinforcing bilateral cooperation in the defense and military fields.”

This high-level military engagement underscores the accelerating alignment between Tehran and Moscow, both subject to extensive Western sanctions, across critical security sectors.

The defense ministers' meeting followed closely on the heels of a significant diplomatic consultation at the Kremlin.

On Sunday, Ali Larijani, Senior Advisor to Iran’s Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that Larijani presented Tehran's assessment of the "escalating situation" in West Asia and developments concerning Iran's nuclear program.

According to Peskov, President Putin reiterated Russia's "well-known positions on how to stabilize the situation in the region and on the political settlement of the Iranian nuclear program."

These consultations occur against a backdrop of heightened regional instability followed by the 12-day U.S.-backed Israeli aggression against Iran, which resulted in the martyrdom of over 1062 Iranians, including civilians, nuclear scientists, and military commanders.

President Putin denounced the aggression as "categorically unacceptable" and a violation of the UN Charter.

Russia, a key signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA), has also expressed willingness to mediate between Tehran and Washington.

The partnership between Tehran and Moscow has been formally anchored by the landmark Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty signed by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and President Putin on January 17.

Following official ratification by President Putin in April and approval by the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) in May, the treaty entered into force.