Iran’s foreign minister: Russia, Iran have never before ‘worked as closely’ together

TEHRAN, Iran — 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.

“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.

Russia and Iran, two of the most heavily sanctioned nations in the world, maintain close ties.

The Middle East war erupted in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. A ceasefire in April and a US-Iran memorandum of understanding in June have failed to stop fighting in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran claims control over the strategic waterway — through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passes in normal times — and regularly targets vessels that cross without its authorization.

In response, Washington has been maintaining a naval counterblockade on Iranian ports.

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.”

Iran is reportedly strengthening defenses around its nuclear sites and preparing for possible renewed fighting with the US.

The war started on February 28, when ​the US and Israel attacked Iran to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.

Tehran responded with its own drone and missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases.

The US, backed by Israel, has claimed that the massive air campaign destroyed Iran’s arms industry.

However, last week, unnamed Western officials told Bloomberg that Iran had preserved its facilities and can replenish its supply of the weapons on its own, with one official saying Russia was also providing it with missiles.

That report came after the Financial Times reported in September that Russia has been helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles, an advanced weapon that is harder to defend against than subsonic variants.

In April, Ukrainian intelligence accused Russia of supplying the Iranians with detailed imagery surveys of military facilities and critical sites across the Middle East to help Iran strike US forces and other targets, including critical infrastructure in Israel, amid the ongoing war.

Last year, the FT reported that Iranian scientists with ties to the regime had made a secret trip late last year to Russia, where they met with military experts and may have sought to advance nuclear weapons work.