On Friday in Turkmenistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The two leaders celebrated their nations' expanding economic relations and shared worldviews, a development that the US found concerning.

Putin is eager to strengthen ties with what he refers to as the Global East and Global South, while being at odds with Washington and the European Union over Russia's war in Ukraine, which he frames as part of a larger existential struggle against an arrogant and self-interested West.

According to Russia's official RIA news agency, Putin offered Pezeshkian to pay an official visit to Russia, and the Iranian leader accepted. Putin's country is hosting a conference of the BRICS nations in Kazan on October 22–24.

Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying to Putin, "Our communications are becoming more powerful and stronger on both an economic and cultural level, day by day."  "Considering the desire of the top leaders of both countries, the growing trend of collaboration between Iran and Russia must be hastened to expand these ties," he stated.

The meeting was part of a broader diplomatic push by Moscow to strengthen its relationships with non-Western allies amid growing international isolation. Russia and Iran have increasingly aligned themselves in recent years, particularly in response to sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe. Cooperation between the two has expanded in military, political, and economic domains.

This meeting marks yet another chapter in the evolving Russia-Iran relationship, which has seen both countries finding common ground on several global and regional issues, presenting a united front against Western influence in the region