Law enforcement officers of Russia and Iran agreed on cooperation

Ahmad Reza Radan, Commander-in-Chief of Iranian Law Enforcement Forces, was received on June 27 by Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev. According to the Iranian embassy in Russia, the visit of the Iranian official took place at the invitation of the Russian side to sign a memorandum on cooperation in the field of law enforcement. The Iranian general will also hold talks with the head of the Russian Guard, Viktor Zolotov.

Speaking to reporters, Radan called the talks a “very good start” for closer cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. He pointed to the readiness of the Iranian side to exchange experience with Russia in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and organized smuggling, as well as in the fight against various crimes.

The day before, according to the press service of the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephone conversations with his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi. During the conversation, the parties discussed the prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation in the field of trade, energy and transport. The heads of state also touched upon the issues of international security in the South Caucasus and the Syrian settlement. In addition, Putin congratulated the President and the Iranian people on the upcoming Eid al-Adha.

The Iranian side is most interested in expanding cooperation between law enforcement structures and Russia, Kirill Semyonov, an expert at the Russian Council on International Affairs, believes. “There was a regular duty visit aimed at continuing interagency dialogue against the backdrop of periodic civil unrest in Iran,” the expert said. – Moscow has a fairly strong counterintelligence structure. Therefore, the Iranians need to exchange experience and methods with the Russian side in the framework of countering the so-called color revolutions.”

Semyonov recalled that since the end of last year, anti-government protests have periodically taken place in Iran, caused by the death of a young Iranian student Mahsa Amini, allegedly at the hands of the vice police. In total, according to official figures, more than 260 demonstrators and law enforcement officers were killed as a result of riots in major Iranian cities. “To a certain extent, this cooperation is also in the interests of the Russian side, given the experience of the Iranian authorities in stopping the threat to domestic political security,” the expert added.

Bilateral cooperation in the field of security has increased significantly over the past year and a half, continues Iranist Nikita Smagin. In this regard, the visit of the head of the Iranian police to Russia looks like a logical continuation of this trend. According to Western media, Moscow can learn from Tehran new experience in the work of law enforcement agencies.

At the same time, Smagin adds, the visit was more likely to have been planned in advance, and not after an attempted armed rebellion: he considered the very idea that Iran could somehow help Russia cope with security threats, he considered inappropriate. “Iran cannot offer technical assistance, because the advantage of Russian law enforcement officers in technology over Iranian colleagues is obvious. Tehran’s maximum is to offer to send its forces to Russia, including proxies, but Moscow is still very far from realizing and recognizing that it needs such assistance. Therefore, this visit is only a continuation of cooperation between the two countries in the field of security,” the expert concluded.