Russia and Iran can unite their efforts in resisting the pressure from the United States, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi said during his two-day visit to Russia.
The head of the Islamic Republic, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, stressed that Tehran is ready for "strategic" relations with Russia, which would not depend on short-term factors.
"Amid external extraordinary conditions, when there is opposition to the unilateral actions of the West, including the United States, we can create synergy in our cooperation," Raisi told Putin.
He noted that the sanctions by the United States and other Western countries are futile in hindering Iran's development.
“We have been resisting the United States for more than 40 years now. We will never stop Iran's development and progress because of sanctions or threats, though we are now making efforts to have the sanctions lifted,” Raisi said at the meeting.
Russia expects Raisi's visit to result in an "inventory of relations," given the change in leadership of Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Russia's support for Iran during the Vienna talks, including Tehran's tough stance on the need to lift sanctions against the Islamic Republic, has strengthened relations between the two countries. Shortly before the visit, media reported that the two sides are planning further military-technical cooperation, including a possible $10 billion contract for the purchase of Russian military equipment.
'Maximum Pressure' Campaign
The situation in Iran has been deteriorating ever since Donald Trump became US president in 2017. The 45th abandoned the hard-won nuclear deal of 2015 (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), signed between Tehran and the US, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany, re-introducing harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic under its so-called "maximum pressure" campaign.
The first batch of restrictions affected the Iranian automotive sector, as well as the markets for gold and other metals. The second banned Iran from exporting any hydrocarbon raw materials and hindered transactions related to the Iranian Central Bank. In November 2018, Iran was disconnected from the SWIFT banking system. Further sanctions restricted the supply of a number of metals, coal and industrial equipment to Tehran.
Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly threatened that Iran should bow to pressure or "it can watch its economy collapse."
Meanwhile, Iran has the third-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela and earnings from its export were Iran’s main source of foreign currency revenue. According to IMF estimates, the country’s foreign exchange reserves in 2019 fell to $86 billion, down 20 percent from 2013 levels.
These and other restrictions have led to unprecedented inflation rates of up to 35 percent, with prices on some meals rising more than 100 percent.
What's more, sanctions have mostly affected the Iranian people during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many companies that supplied medicine and medical equipment required to fight the coronavirus have stopped shipping to Iran.
The Iranian government, nevertheless, has focused its efforts on further development, continuing, among other things, the allocation of large amounts of money to scientific research. According to Raisi, Iranian oil exports have increased "40 percent and oil revenues are returning to the country."