The secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, held a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, in Moscow on Wednesday. The talks between the two officials focused on cooperation between their respective agencies, as well as between their law enforcement and security services, the Russian Security Council has said in a statement.
Ahmadian, who assumed the role of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) secretary in May 2023, arrived in Moscow upon Patrushev’s invitation on Tuesday evening, the Iranian embassy reported.
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Discussions between the two security chiefs centered around combating terrorism and strengthening cybersecurity, as well as securing economic resilience in the face of Western sanctions pressure, Moscow said.
According to the Security Council’s statement, Patrushev and Ahmadian also discussed a new “bilateral comprehensive long-term agreement,” which would “provide a major impetus to the development of mutually beneficial partnership in all fields.” Thereby, the relationship between Moscow and Tehran is “reaching a whole new level,” it declared.
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Patrushev visited Tehran in November 2022 at the invitation of Ahmadian’s predecessor, Ali Shamkhani. At the time, he was scheduled to discuss the development of bilateral relations and international cooperation with high-ranking Iranian political and economic officials, news outlet IRNA reported.
In June 2023, the Russian security chief hosted a meeting with Iran’s law enforcement commander-in-chief, Sardar Ahmadreza Radan, in Moscow. The two officials discussed communication between special services and law enforcement agencies, and signed a memorandum to jointly combat drug trafficking, organized crime, and smuggling.