MOSCOW, May 27. /TASS/. Relations between Moscow and Tehran will not change significantly under the new president of Iran, Russia’s former ambassador to Iran Alexander Maryasov has said at a round table discussion devoted to Tehran’s domestic and foreign policies.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash in the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan on May 19. An early presidential election is due on June 28.
"The way I see it, fundamentally nothing will change [under the new Iranian president]," he said. "Relations are developing literally in all areas and between different agencies and organizations and in the military field. Inter-parliamentary ties are very strong. Recently there was a serious emphasis on the development of military-technical cooperation. I think that the prospects of relations will be normal, and I do not see any fundamental changes in the development of our relations."
Maryasov noted that in Iran there were now different speculations about who might contest the presidency.
"A single, very influential, well-known and solid candidate is nowhere in sight for now. The search for such a candidate is in progress," the expert said.
He believes that Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber could also become president, because he has experience of top-ranking state activity.
"In principle, he can push ahead with the policy that Raisi pursued. Such a development is not excluded," Maryasov said.