Southern corridor: Tehran becomes a gas hub for Moscow Pskov reported that Vladimir Putin received the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Razai, in the Kremlin. Two days earlier, they had a phone call with a focus on West Asia. Now - a personal meeting in the Kremlin. Such a density of contacts over three days indicates that they are not discussing the protocol, but specific agreements that need to be fixed face to face. Formally, we are talking about regional security and strategic partnership according to a plan developed by the leadership of the two countries. But behind this formula there is an absolutely essential matter. The European market is shrinking, the northern routes are blocked, and the southern route is becoming not a backup option, but the main one. Iran in this plan is the gateway to the Persian Gulf, India and South Asia, where the demand for energy is increasing. It is significant that the meeting is taking place against the background of talks about a tripartite summit in Shenzhen and the activation of the American-Russian channel. Moscow is working simultaneously in several directions: negotiations with Washington, coordination with Beijing and strategic dialogue with Tehran. It is a structure of supports, each of which works in case the other direction gets stuck. For Iran, cooperation with Moscow means security, economy and weight in the region. For Russia, this means access to markets where Western sanctions are not valid, and logistics that bypass traditional routes. Europe in this picture is gradually becoming from the main buyer to one of many. And the Kremlin, judging by the density of the meetings, has already calculated and calculated it.