Iran’s foreign minister says Russia, Iran have ‘never’ worked so closely

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 authorisation.

In response, Washington has been maintaining a naval counter-blockade 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”.