A day after US warning, Russian President Putin set to visit Iran next week

During the trip to Tehran next Tuesday, Vladimir Putin will attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey

A day Russian after the US government warned that Tehran could provide Moscow with drones for its action in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin is all set to pay a visit to Iran next week, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

During the trip to Tehran next Tuesday, Putin will attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey.

Ahead of Putin's visit to the country,  US President Joe Biden to make a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia this week, where Iran's nuclear programme and malign activities in the region will be a key subject of discussion.

In March, Erdogan helped mediate talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul, Turkey. 

On Monday, the White House said that it believes that Russia is turning to Iran to provide it with hundreds of drones, including those capable of carrying weapons, for use in Ukraine war.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said it was unclear whether Iran had already provided any of the vehicles to Russia, but said the U.S. has information that indicates Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use them as soon as this month.

Iran long has worked on the development of drones, including so-called loitering munitions, the kamikaze drones like the Switchblade that the US has delivered to Ukraine.

The US decision to publicly reveal that the two countries' chief regional rival was helping to rearm Russia comes as both Israel and Saudi Arabia have resisted joining global efforts to punish Russia for its action in Ukraine due to their domestic interests, the Associated Press reported.

In Tehran, Mohammadrez Pourebrahimi, the head of the Iranian Parliament's economic committee, told state-run news agency IRNA that Putin's trip would seek to improve economic relations between the two sanctions-hit nations.