Putin tells Iran Russia ‘will do everything’ to secure peace in Middle East as talks with U.S. stall

Russian President Vladimir Putin reasserted Russia’s support for Tehran during a meeting in St. Petersburg Monday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

During the meeting, Mr. Putin reportedly signaled Russia’s interest in jumpstarting stalled Middle East peace negotiations between Iran and the U.S. and Israel.

“For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” the Russian president told Mr. Araghchi during the meeting, according to state-affiliated media. “Russia, just like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship.”

Along with Mr. Putin, Mr. Araghchi met with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov and Igor Kostyukov, head of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU, for just over an hour, according to Russian media.

Mr. Araghchi praised Mr. Putin for his support of Iran during the war, which began in late February after joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military targets.

“We thank our Russian friends for their support throughout this war and declare Iran’s determination to continue strategic relations and partnership with Russia under the new circumstances,” Mr. Araghchi told reporters after the meeting. “Mr. Putin said that not only Russia, but now the entire world is admiring the Iranian people for their resilience.”

Mr. Putin also said he had received a message from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard in public since the start of the war in late February.

Mr. Khamenei reportedly suffered severe injuries in the opening hours of the war after he survived an attack on the compound that killed both his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and his wife.

Mr. Khamenei has been in hiding since, reportedly under intense medical care and only communicating with a close inner circle of made up of elite members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mr. Lavrov said the discussion was “useful” but refused to disclose further details on the talks.

Monday’s meeting comes as negotiations between Iran and the U.S. faultered again over the weekend.

President Trump canceled a U.S. delegation bound for Pakistan on Saturday, despite the fact that Mr. Araghchi had already flown to Islamabad in preparation for further talks.

Mr. Aragchi on Monday blamed the U.S’s inconsistent actions for slowing diplomacy.

“The continuation of the United States’ harmful practices — particularly its insistence on unreasonable demands, frequent shifts in positions, threatening rhetoric, and repeated breaches of commitments — has slowed progress in diplomacy,” he said.