Russia, China and Iran move closer after President Raisi’s death

TEHRAN — Russia and China are moving to bolster ties with Iran following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, with his eventual successor expected to maintain a hard line against the U.S. and Europe.

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of Russia’s State Duma, and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing attended a memorial service in Tehran Wednesday for Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who were both killed in a helicopter crash Sunday.

Volodin and Zhang also met with Iran’s acting president, Mohammad Mokhber.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had asked Volodin to convey his sympathy over Raisi’s death. Raisi was a “very reliable partner” who was “guided by national interests” and could be trusted to honor agreements, Putin said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a message of condolence to Mokhber, saying Raisi’s death was a great loss to the Iranian people, and that the Chinese people also lost a good friend.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also outlined plans to bolster strategic cooperation with Iran in a meeting with an official from Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.

Under Raisi, who was a protege of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran took a hard line against the U.S. and instead focused on ties with China, Russia and other friendly nations in the region.

In July last year, Iran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional grouping led by China and Russia. It also signed on to the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a free trade agreement of former Soviet states, in December.

Iran has also bolstered crude oil exports to China amid sanctions against Tehran by the U.S.

Russia and China see closer ties with Iran as a priority as well.

Russia has increased military cooperation with Iran, using drones supplied by Tehran in its war in Ukraine. China brokered a deal to restore diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia last year, demonstrating its growing clout in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s emir, also attended the memorial service. Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut relations with Qatar from 2017 to 2021, in part over Doha’s close ties with Iran. Sheikh Tamim highlighted the strength of that relationship by attending the event himself.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were also in attendance.

Khamenei called Pakistan a “brotherly” nation in a meeting with Sharif on Wednesday, and called for stronger bilateral ties.

Meanwhile, Iran’s ties with Europe had suffered under Raisi. Some leaders like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered condolences over Raisi’s death, but did not send high-ranking officials to Wednesday’s ceremony.

The reaction from Washington was blunt. John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said, “President Raisi was responsible for atrocious human rights in his own country” following the Sunday crash.

The election to choose Raisi’s successor will be held on June 28. Registration for candidates is slated to begin on Thursday.

All candidates will be vetted first by the Constitutional Council, which is closely aligned with the supreme leader. This means the race is likely to center on hard-line conservatives, and many analysts do not expect a drastic change Iran’s diplomatic policy under its new government.

“Abdollahian’s deputy and now acting successor, Ali Bagheri Kani, ran the nuclear file,” said Barbara Slavin, a fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington. “So I don’t see his passing — or that of Raisi, for that matter — affecting Iran’s foreign policies in the region or in general.”

source : asia.nikkei