Putin Discusses Regional Security and Gas Pipeline With Iranian Official on November 5
Key Facts
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei at the Kremlin on November 5, and Rezaei delivered a message from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Reuters reported. Rezaei said the talks covered regional issues and security arrangements for the period after the war between Iran and the United States. He added that the meeting discussed building a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran. The Iranian official linked the project to addressing gas shortages in his country, while allowing Russian gas to be sold to countries neighboring Iran. The contents of Khamenei’s message to Putin were not disclosed, according to Euronews.
Rezaei described the talks as addressing important issues in the postwar phase, without announcing any agreements reached during the meeting. The issues at the center of peace efforts include the future status of the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Reuters reported. They also include sanctions on Iran and the possibility of resuming negotiations over its nuclear program. Rezaei said Tehran had announced 7 conditions for the United States. He added that Iran would not open the Strait of Hormuz or enter negotiations unless those conditions were implemented.
The gas pipeline proposal comes as Iran faces supply shortages, while giving Russia a potential outlet for selling gas to markets neighboring Iran. Putin said in January 2025 that supplies could begin at less than 2 billion cubic meters, with the potential to reach 55 billion cubic meters annually later. In April 2025, Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said supplies through existing infrastructure could reach 1.8 billion cubic meters annually in the initial phase. The minister estimated potential supplies from the larger project at 55 billion cubic meters annually. These statements place earlier estimates of supply volumes in the context of the proposal discussed by Putin and Rezaei, without an announcement of a new contract during the meeting.
Russian-Iranian cooperation covered in the reports also included the Rasht–Astara railway project, with Euronews reporting that Iran’s National Security Council had approved the project’s implementation agreement with Russian participation. Rezaei said the roads and urban development minister would sign the contract soon. The section is slightly more than 160 kilometers long and represents the final missing link on the western route of the International North-South Transport Corridor. The corridor is intended to connect Russia with Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf. Putin said at the Valdai Club meeting on October 1 that Moscow was ready to provide the credit resources needed for the project, adding that the Iranian side had to complete its share of the work at that stage.
In separate economic news, Russia’s S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.9 points in October from 49.8 points in September, but remained below the 50 threshold separating growth from contraction. Factory output fell for a third consecutive month, although the decline was marginal, while new orders fell for a third month at a slower pace than in the previous two months. New export orders declined for a 12th consecutive month, at the fastest pace since May 2022, with companies attributing this to weak demand from Commonwealth of Independent States countries, particularly Kazakhstan. Factory employment fell, but at the slowest pace since the start of the year, while backlogs of work contracted for a 21st month at the slowest pace since February. Input prices rose sharply, but at the slowest pace in 7 months, while output price inflation slowed to its lowest level since April amid competitive pressure; business confidence improved to its highest level since June, though overall sentiment remained historically weak.