TEHRAN – Tehran’s ambassador to Moscow has said Iran is interested in buying new Russian weapons to enhance its defense capacities, TASS reported on Tuesday.

“Indeed, it is so,” Kazem Jalali said, answering a question if Teheran was interested in Russia’s new weapons.

“We will hold consultations with Russia on what we need to enhance our defense capacities. The Russian government and the Russian people have always been by our side in times of trouble. Russia is our priority partner in this sense,” he stressed.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had announced that Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was scheduled to visit Moscow on Tuesday. 

“Lavrov and Zarif will hold negotiations on Tuesday in Moscow,” she told reporters on Monday.

Zarif’s last official visit to the Russian capital of Moscow was in mid-June 2020.

In a tweet on Monday, Jalali said Foreign Minister Zarif will deliver President Hassan Rouhani’s message to President Vladimir Putin during the visit.

He said that Zarif is making his 30th visit to Russia as the Iranian foreign minister and his third visit to the country in the past six months.

Apart from delivering Rouhani’s message, the Iranian minister will also discuss the JCPOA, regional developments, and bilateral ties with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavorv, added the envoy. 

“As a supporter of the JCPOA, Russia has recently opposed the [anti-Iranian] resolution of the IAEA Board of Governors. Iran and Russia are united against inhumane and unilateral sanctions of the US,” Jalali wrote.

Leaders of the two countries, he continued, are determined to cement bilateral ties to safeguard common interests and help to ensure regional security.

The visit comes as Zarif was in Iraq on Sunday, holding talks with high-ranking officials of the neighboring country including Iraqi president, prime minister, foreign minister, and parliament speaker among others.

MH/PA