Iranian private airline Mahan Air will operate direct flights to Moscow starting next week, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanaei said Wednesday.

"On January 21, 2016 Iranian airline Mahan Air will launch direct flights between Moscow and Tehran with a frequency of one flight per week," Sanaei said in a Russian-language blog post on Livejournal.

The ambassador said the number of flights would rise to two per week starting on February 20 – with flights leaving for Tehran every Monday and Thursday.

Sanaei said relations between Russia and Iran were on the rise. This is reflected by an increase in air traffic between the two countries, he said. Last year, the Islamic Republic’s flag-carrier Iran Air resumed flights to Russia after a several-year hiatus.