Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed a strong desire for closer ties with Iran,announcing plans to establish Russian schools to cater to Iranian students.

“We are making every effort to further develop our relations with Iran, and we will continue to do so in the future," Putin stated during an event held on Wednesday night in the resort city of Sochi.

He was addressing the winners and finalists of a competition to select the best teacher in Russia, as reported by Russia's Sputnik news agency.

Putin also discussed the possibility of establishing educational institutions in Iran as part of a broader effort to strengthen ties between the two nations.

The Russian president also emphasized the importance of "soft power" in improving Iran-Russia relations, describing it as a means of promoting culture and education. He stated, “Soft power in the kindest and best sense of this word, the promotion of our culture and our education systems. We will mull this over as well,” according to Russia's TASS media.

The comments are part of a larger set of statements from Putin about the necessity of a multipolar world that is more democratic. Interestingly, he was discussing the need for authoritarian regimes like Russia to challenge the US-led democratic world order. From Moscow's perspective, the world is currently under the "dictatorship" of a US-led model that drives nations into debt, creates economic dependencies, and deprives certain regions of resources for development.

Nations such as Iran, Russia, and China are actively pursuing strategies to reduce their reliance on Western influence and the predominance of the US dollar, aiming to shield themselves from sanctions and Western institutional pressures