Tehran, IRNA – Pro-West media outlets have exacerbated propaganda campaign against Russia amid Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s upcoming visit to Moscow, so the question is why is the West afraid of Russia-Iran convergence?
Russia’s official media have reported that the Iranian president is going to pay a visit to the Russian capital this week at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday that top Iranian and Russian officials are going to discuss cultural, political, economic, technological, and other aspects of mutual cooperation during the trip.
Ruhollah Modabber, an expert in Russian affairs, said in an exclusive interview with IRNA on Tuesday that Western powers have been trying to demonize Russia in the eyes of the Iranian people.
The West has been focusing on cultural aspect of this campaign; therefore, President Putin has paid great attention to the anti-Russia propaganda since he took power in 2000, Modabber said.
There is a serious lack of familiarity with Russia in Iran, he said, noting that a great number of Iranian officials are not aware that the Treaty on the basis for mutual relations and the principles of cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation was signed in 2001 and that is because Iranians have always focused on the West and suffered from lack of knowledge on Russia, the analyst opined.
Modabber went on to say that current tensions between the West and Russia is unprecedented and that as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed, there would happen an extraordinary transformation in the region, so the Islamic Republic should find its position in the alternation.
There are still many people who think that Russia is the Soviet Union with nuclear bombs and these people are not acquainted with Russian progress and technology, he added.
Iranians should stop ups and downs in relationship with Russians and pursue strategic cooperation with the neighboring state, the pundit said, noting that President Putin gave importance to his Iranian counterpart’s visit to Moscow and put aside Russian traditions when he announced in a meeting with Greece’s prime minister that he invited President Raisi to pay a visit to Moscow as soon as possible.
The Russians are utilizing for the first time the words friends and partners for Iranians, the analyst said, adding that Russia has usually used these key words for China.
According to the expert, President Putin loves reading books from Persian Khayyam’s poems.
He also said that unlike the Qajar Dynasty and Tsar reign, Russia and Iran enjoy common interests, so the two countries have focused on new doctrine, which promotes standing against the West’s influence and American unilateralism.
Iran, Russia, and China have been facing Western in particular American sanctions, but the three nations have not set up joint swifts to resolve their financial and economic problems, he said, noting that now the Russians seek to establish an alliance with Iranians.
The Western media are well aware that President Raisi’s trip to Moscow can pave the ground for strategic security and economic collaborations between Russia and Iran, so the West propagate Russophobia because it is concerned about the possibility that Russians accept new members such as Iran to the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Source: Islamic Republic News Agency – IRNA
