Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday announced he will travel to Moscow in the coming hours for urgent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, shortly after the United States launched airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear sites.
Araghchi emphasized the “strategic partnership” between Iran and Russia. “We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” he told reporters in Istanbul, according to media reports.
Russia is a close ally of Iran. Tehran supplied Moscow with military drones to strike Ukraine and, in return, has received help with its civilian nuclear program. The Kremlin has also maintained warm relations with Israel.
Israel had been lobbying the U.S. for months to get involved in the military effort against Iran’s nuclear program, stepping up the campaign after it launched unilateral strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites earlier this month.
Amid the efforts at a negotiated settlement over Tehran’s nuclear program, the Kremlin has consistently voiced strong opposition to any notion of regime change in Iran. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently called such discussions “unacceptable” and warned that the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would “open the Pandora’s box,” leading to extremism within the country