Heading a high-ranking military delegation, the Iranian defense minister will travel to Russia later today at the invitation of Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Shoygu.

Hatami is scheduled to attend the Army-2020 forum and hold meetings with the Russian authorities.

Organized by the Russian Defense Ministry, ARMY-2020 will be held on August 23-29 at Kubinka Air Base, Alabino Military Training Grounds.

Iran and Russia have formed a strong alliance in recent years, with both supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s legitimate government against foreign-backed militancy.