Iran looking for ‘big jump’ in Russia relations with Moscow talks
Al JazeeraIran’s new FM Amirabdollahian is in Moscow to hold talks with his Russian counterpart. Tehran, Iran – Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said Iran is after a “big jump in relations” with Russia as he prepares to hold talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. Iran’s army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have recently mobilised forces and held military drills close to its northwestern borders with Azerbaijan amid lingering tensions following Azerbaijan’s 44-day war with Armenia last year. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news, affiliated with the IRGC, said on Tuesday that the representative office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Baku was closed by Azeri officials. Before his meeting with Lavrov, Amirabdollahian said Iran expects Russia “to be sensitive about any potential changes in borders across the region, and be sensitive about the presence of terrorists and the movements of the Zionist regime that threatens regional peace and stability”.