MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new ambassador to Iran amid growing political and economic relations between the two countries.

A decree published on Russia’s official legal information website and covered by the Tass news agency on Thursday said that Alexey Dedov will take over as Moscow’s new ambassador to Tehran. “Appoint Dedov Alexey Yuryevich as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the document read. Dedov will replace Levan Dzhagaryan who served as Russian ambassador to Iran since October 2011.