Gilbert doctorow moscow times-news

Host Dmitry Kiselyov opened last evening’s ‘News of the Week’ program on Rossiya 1 with the remark that the newly signed Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation with Iran is not a mutual defense pact and then put up on the screen the text of Article 3 point 3 which reads as follows:

In case one of the Parties to this Agreement is subjected to aggression, the other Party to this Agreement must not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor which would facilitate prolongation of the aggression and will assist settlement of the dispute on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations and other applicable norms of international law.

Goodness!

It would be hard to imagine a weaker expression of strategic alignment in the security dimension.

Indeed, the following point 4 in Article 3 tells us that they will not undermine the stability of one another.

The Parties to the Agreement do not allow use of their territories for the purpose of suppor