MOSCOW (Dispatches) -- Commander of the Ground Force of the Iranian Army Brigadier-General Kioumars Haydari said Monday his force is ready to expand military cooperation with the Russian ground forces.
He made the remarks at a meeting with Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian ground forces, here.
The two commanders agreed to increase military cooperation between the ground forces of Iran and Russia and execute projects that will enhance their combat readiness.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the key countries

of the Middle East and a strategic partner of Russia,” Gen. Salyukov said.
The Russian commander said Moscow and Tehran are currently engaged in deep political discussions to further strengthen bilateral relations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian military delegation in Moscow to discuss cooperation between Iranian and Russian ground forces.
Russia and Iran, both under Western economic sanctions, have forged closer relations in military and other areas since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
“The military delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, led by the Ground Forces Commander Brigade General Kioumars Haydari arrived in Moscow for discussion of issues of bilateral military cooperation,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to TASS.
The two sides discussed “issues of military cooperation and interaction, aimed at the implementation of projects that are supposed to improve the combat readiness of both countries’ armed forces,” TASS said.
Russia sees Iran as its “strategic partner,” it quoted Salyukov as saying.