Russian deputy FM arrives in Tehran

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov arrived here in Tehran Friday night after the two countries signed an agreement on strategic security cooperation earlier in the day. During the two-day visit, the senior Russian diplomat is due to meet with high-ranking Iranian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, to discuss bilateral ties and exchange views over regional issues. Bogdanov is also due to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi during his stay in Tehran. Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Undersecretary Ali Baqeri was in Moscow earlier this week. Baqeri, who left Tehran for Moscow on Tuesday, a few hours before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its latest report on Iran, signed an agreement on strategic cooperation between the two countries during his meeting with senior Russian security officials in Moscow on Friday. Speaking to reporters after endorsing the agreement, Baqeri said the two sides had been working on the document for some time before it was inked on Friday. "This document includes different aspects of cooperation between the Iranian and Russian national security councils in various security, economic, political and intelligence fields," he explained. During the visit to Moscow, the Iranian security official met with his Russian counterpart as well as the Russian Federation's National Security Council secretary, foreign minister and deputy foreign minister. During the meetings, the two sides reportedly discussed a range of issues, including Iran's nuclear activities and the IAEA report on Iran, the Russian 'step-by-step' proposal for Iran-West nuclear standoff, and the recent developments in the Middle-East. The recent accusations leveled by the US against Iran as well as Tehran-Moscow security cooperation were also on the agenda of talks between Baqeri and the Russian officials. Baqeri's talks with Moscow officials came as on the fourth leg of periodic meetings between Iran and Russia in the last three months. The exchange of visits by Iranian and Russian officials came after Israel and the United States dictated a report to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Yukiya Amano on Iran to find a pretext for intensifying war rhetoric on the Islamic Republic. Once the report was released, not only Iran, but also many world states, including Russia, China and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member states, strongly rejected it and blasted the UN nuclear watchdog chief for acting as a White House proxy. Iran also said that it would not budge "an iota" from its peaceful atomic activities. Yet, Israeli government figures even before the IAEA released its report had started claims that they were preparing for a strike on Iran. The Zionist regime last week alleged that air strikes could be in the offing against Iran. Israeli President Shimon Peres said last weekend that such action was becoming "more and more likely". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Thursday Iran will respond to any military strike by Israel or the United States with "iron fists." All senior Russian officials, including the country's President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, have warned the US and Israel against aggressive moves against Iran, reiterating that they would not accept an intensification of sanctions against Tehran either.