In a new treaty with Russia to be signed on Friday, Iran has rejected Moscow's annexation of Crimea, according to Middle East Eye.
Iran's refusal to recognize Crimea as Russian territory in the new treaty suggests that Tehran may not be fully supportive of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are set to sign a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty, which aims to establish Russia-Iran relations for the next 20 years and strengthen the partnership between the two countries in many sectors amid isolation from global powers due to sanctions.
However, the treaty does not recognize Crimea as Russian territory, even though Moscow annexed the region from Ukraine in 2014. The neglected recognition was evident in one of the points of the agreement regarding territorial integrity, which is crucial for Tehran as well as Moscow. The United Arab Emirates and Iran have been in dispute over three Gulf islands under Iranian control since 1971.
Tehran's decision not to recognize Crimea as Russian territory contradicts how Iran previously viewed the territory. In 2022, Iranian troops were "directly engaged on the ground" on the Crimean peninsula, supporting Russia's offensive.
The new long-term agreement consists of 47 articles, Middle East Eye reported, citing a government source. The articles address various topics on which the countries should be partners — including technology, information and cybersecurity, peaceful nuclear energy cooperation, counterterrorism, regional cooperation, environmental issues and organized crime. The new treaty, which has been in the works for five years, is intended to replace a previous long-term agreement between Russia and Iran that dates back to 2001 and was extended until 2020.