Just three days before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, Russia and Iran have finally signed a “comprehensive partnership agreement,” a deal that had been in the works for months.

A former CIA analyst pleaded guilty Friday to leaking information on a planned Israeli attack on Iran. Asif Rahman, 34, was arrested by the FBI in November weeks after classified documents appeared on the Telegram messaging app.

The presidents of Russia and Iran have held talks in the Kremlin before the signing of a broad cooperation pact to deepen their partnership amid stinging Western sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian deepened military ties between their countries on Friday by signing a 20-year strategic partnership that is likely to worry the West.

The agreement is focused more on trade than military issues, but it will bring two countries with a shared desire to challenge the West closer together.

Russia may supply up to 55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas per year to Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, as Moscow diversifies its gas flows after a dramatic fall in exports to Europe.

President-elect Donald Trump's designate to serve as his Ukraine and Russia envoy says the U.S. must reapply the maximum pressure campaign and the Iranian people have a chance for a new future.

Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives for its nuclear enrichment program in an act of sabotage.

Iran's leader made the claim less than a week before the president-elect returns to the White House. In his first term, Trump took a tough line on Iran.

(Reuters) - Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

Iran has long sought an alliance to protect it in the face of potential conflict with adversaries, but the text of the agreement falls short of obligating either party to provide military support in the event of foreign aggression.