Ashtiani made the remarks in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on the sidelines of the 21st meeting of Defense Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Friday.
He said Tehran and Moscow should oppose unilateralism on global issues.
He thanked Russia for condemning Israel’s illegal and illegal airstrikes against Iran’s diplomatic facilities in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1 and for expressing support for Tehran’s legitimate response.
“The terrorist attacks in Russia and Iran are the result of the support of Western countries, especially the United States, for terrorist groups,” Ashtiani emphasized.
On April 1, the Israeli regime carried out terrorist airstrikes against the consular section of the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, killing two generals of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Brig. Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, as well as five of their accompanying officers.
In retaliation, the IRGC attacked the occupied territories on April 13 with a barrage of drones and missiles. The retaliatory attacks, dubbed Operation True Promise, caused damage to Israeli military bases in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Elsewhere in the conversation, the Iranian Defense Chief warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and some Western countries are taking measures in line with the policy of expansion towards the East.
He urged member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to use the body’s capabilities to thwart common threats.
For his part, the Russian Defense Minister criticized Israel’s attacks on Iran’s diplomatic facilities in Damascus and said that Tehran’s response was in accordance with the legitimate right of self-defense.
Ashtiani and Shoigu also praised the successful experience of Iran and Russia in fighting terrorism in the region and called for expanding cooperation to counter terrorist threats, separatism and extremism.
The Iranian and Russian defense chiefs emphasized that the developments in the South Caucasus are important for the interests of the two countries, noting that the presence of extra-regional powers in this region is detrimental to common interests.
They said that the 3+3 format, which is being implemented in the presence of all countries in the Caucasus region, is an appropriate framework to resolve the issues, according to a statement from Iran’s Defense Ministry.
The 3+3 format includes three South Caucasus countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) and three neighboring countries (Russia, Turkey and Iran).
Iran was one of the countries that proposed the formation of a 3+3 group in line with its foreign policy of resolving the problems, differences and challenges faced by the countries in the region.