Russian Defense chief visits Iran amid rising Middle East tensions

Former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu appeared in Tehran on Monday. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, which Reuters cites, he is there to hold talks with Iranian leaders, including President Masud Pezeszkian.

Interfax also reports that Shoygu, who served as the Minister of Defense of Russia for many years before being appointed Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation in May, will also meet with the Chief of General Staff, in addition to meeting with the president.

As Reuters reminds, Shoygu's visit comes at a time of high tension in the Middle East. During a Monday press conference in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Naser Kanaani conveyed that Iran does not seek escalation in the region but must "exact punishment" on Israel to prevent further destabilization.

Kanaani emphasized that "punishing" Israel for the attack in which the political wing leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran last week is "necessary". Iran supports and finances the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, as well as other anti-Israeli armed groups.

Kanaani stated, "Strengthening stability and security in the region will be achieved by punishing the aggressor and creating deterrent measures against Israel and its adventurism."

Russia has been tightening its ties with Iran since the beginning of the war with Ukraine. In February, Reuters reported that Iran supplied Russia with a large number of ground-to-ground ballistic missiles. In June, the USA conveyed that Russia seems to be deepening defense cooperation with Iran and received hundreds of one-way attack drones, which it used to strike Ukraine, a claim Moscow denies.

Last week, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which occurred on Wednesday in Tehran.