The three countries are serious about working together for the sake of international peace, Abbas Araghchi has told RT

Iran, Russia, and China intend to deepen their cooperation in order to promote global peace and security, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said in an exclusive interview with RT.

Tehran has been strengthening its ties with Moscow and Beijing in recent years, joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2023 and the BRICS group in 2024. Military cooperation has also expanded, most recently through joint naval drills conducted by the three countries off Iran's coast in March.

Given the current international climate, working closely with Moscow and Beijing is "a necessity" for Tehran, Araghchi told the broadcaster on Saturday.

"We have started trilateral talks between Iran, Russia and China on the issue of Iran's nuclear program for some time now," he said, adding that two such meetings have already taken place. "We are ready to continue these talks and expand them to other issues," the minister added.

Araghchi expressed confidence that "Iran, China and Russia - in a coordinated move - can take effective steps towards international peace." The three partners "are serious about this," he insisted.

Tehran's top diplomat also said that bilateral "relations between Iran and Russia have never been so close and so strong" than at the current moment.

"We now have a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement that raises the level of our relations to a strategic level. Major economic projects are underway between us. The volume of trade between us has increased tremendously," he said.

Despite harsh Western restrictions slapped on both Iran and Russia, the two countries "are not waiting for the sanctions to be lifted, but we are expanding our relations in this situation," Araghchi noted.

"We have the same and close positions on many international issues. I do not want to say that there are no disagreements between us. Sometimes there are also differences of opinion, but in most cases we have close positions with each other and, most importantly, we are in constant exchange of views," he said.

Earlier this week, Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of the country's parliament, unanimously ratified the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Iran, which was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Peseshkian in January. The pact stipulates that the two nations will develop equal and mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of politics, defense, economy, security, trade, investment, energy, infrastructure and other areas.

(RT.com)