Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin's official visit to Tehran underscores the strengthening bilateral ties between Iran and the Western Balkan nation. The visit coincides with the inauguration of the new President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Massoud Pezeshkiyan, on July 30. 

Amid deteriorating relations with most European countries, Iran finds a rare ally in Serbia. The relationship is built on mutual political support: Serbia values Iran's non-recognition of Kosovo, while Iran appreciates Serbia’s refusal to condemn its human rights record and nuclear programme.

Historically, Belgrade and Tehran have enjoyed friendly relations. During the height of the Cold War, when Yugoslavia pursued a non-aligned foreign policy, Iran was one of its main trade partners in Asia, with an annual trade exchange of around $800mn. Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito visited Iran four times and enjoyed friendly relations with Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who in 1971 invited Tito to a feast in the Iranian desert to celebrate 2,500 years of the Persian Empire.

Relations were later damaged during the Bosnian war in 1992-95, when Iran supported the Bosniaks against Bosnian-Serb forces, and Belgrade suffered the reputational damage of Bosnian Serb atrocities against the Bosnian Muslims.

However, in recent years Serbia and Iran have re-established cordial relations. Tehran's stance on the Kosovo issue has secured goodwill in Belgrade. Unlike several other Muslim-majority nations, Iran refuses to recognise Kosovo, viewing Pristina as an outpost of US militarism.

Vulin’s visit continues a series of high-level meetings between the two nations. In April 2021, Serbia’s then foreign minister Nikola Selakovic visited Iran, expressing gratitude to Tehran for its stance on Kosovo and discussing ways to enhance bilateral trade. Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian reciprocated with a visit to Belgrade in December 2022. Since then, other high-ranking Serbian officials have visited Tehran, including Deputy Foreign Minister Goran Aleksic in August 2023.

While political relations are strong, economic ties remain modest, with annual trade barely reaching €50mn. Serbia is cautious about expanding trade that could trigger sanctions. Nevertheless, Serbia has increased oil imports from Iran. NIS, Serbia’s Russian-owned oil giant, doubled its imports of Iranian heavy crude oil from 126,000 tonnes in 2021 to 267,000 tonnes in 2022, according to NIS's website.

Serbian banks’ compliance with Western sanctions on Iran has hampered the economic relationship from going further. Since Serbia became a candidate for EU accession in 2012, it has approached economic engagement with Iran cautiously, especially after the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions.

Recently, however, Serbian officials have expressed openness to exploring closer economic ties with Iran. On July 29, Samad Hassanzadeh, President of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA), reiterated Iran's readiness to enhance trade relations with Serbia. During a meeting with Serbia's newly appointed ambassador to Iran, Demir Kovacevic, Hassanzadeh proposed launching a trade-expo centre in Serbia and expressed disappointment over the unimplemented 2021 agreement to establish a joint economic commission.

Hassanzadeh urged the Serbian ambassador to reconsider a free trade agreement, to which Belgrade has yet to respond. Ambassador Kovacevic responded positively, emphasising Serbia's commitment to enhancing trade cooperation with Iran. He advocated the formation of a trade council to explore opportunities and pledged that the Serbian embassy would work towards achieving the trade objectives set by both nations and revitalise existing agreements.

Despite the current constraints imposed by Western sanctions, Serbia appears to be positioning itself for the long term, aiming to secure preferential treatment for Serbian companies in Iran in the event that sanctions are eventually lifted or eased.