Russian defense chief meets Iranian counterpart on widening military cooperation

MOSCOW – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told his Iranian counterpart Gharaei Ashtiani that Moscow is ready to expand military and technical cooperation with Tehran, the RIA state news agency reports.

Contacts between the countries’ military departments have increased significantly recently, Shoigu is cited as saying.

The meeting comes on the sidelines of a session in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security grouping that includes Russia, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.