Iranian Foreign Minister Says Tehran and Moscow Have Never Been Closer

Russian Foreign Ministry

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Russia and Iran have “never” worked so closely, as Moscow seeks to play a mediating role in the Middle East war.

Araghchi hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Iran on Monday, in his first visit since the outbreak of the conflict.

Lavrov said Russia is committed to a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Iran, which officially came into force on October 2. He said Russian specialists would gradually return to the Bushehr nuclear power plant after they left during the war.

“We covered everything from Europe to West Asia, including Lebanon, Palestine, Ukraine and Yemen. Also focused on expansion of economic and nuclear cooperation,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now.”

Lavrov said ahead of the visit that Moscow’s efforts “aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war,” with talks stalled between the United States and Iran.

His visit came after Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian this month that Moscow was prepared to contribute to mediation efforts.

Lavrov held a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian later on Monday. Pezeshkian said that he believes Russia shared “common views and approaches with Iran” when it came to his call for a world based on mutual respect.

The Russian foreign ministry said ahead of Lavrov’s visit to Iran that discussions were expected to focus on “ways to resolve the acute international crisis triggered by the unlawful aggression of the US and Israel” against the Islamic republic.

The ministry said the war had been a blow to stability and security “not only in the near and Middle East, but also on a global scale.”



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