Iran's Culture Minister says the country seeks to broaden cultural and artistic cooperation with Russia, especially in response to Western efforts to portray an unfavorable image of the two nations.

A high-level Iranian media delegation visited Moscow this week to enhance strategic media cooperation between the two countries.

Tehran says "spreading false and misleading news about the transfer of Iranian weapons to some countries" is was "ugly propaganda" and a lie.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman referred to a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that has been negotiated between the two sides for years.