After US Strike On Nuclear Facilities, Iran Seeks Russia’s Support
Following the most significant American military strike against the Islamic Republic Iran has turned to Russia for stronger support.
Reuters reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday sent Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to Moscow with a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking deeper cooperation in the face of growing threats from the United States and Israel.
According to a senior source who spoke to Reuters, Araqchi is expected to deliver a letter from Khamenei directly to Putin, appealing for greater backing as Tehran grapples with intensified U.S. hostility.
Over the weekend, U.S. forces launched an aggressive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, escalating tensions that have been simmering for years.
President Donald Trump and Israeli leaders have recently made inflammatory comments about regime change in Iran and even speculated about targeting Khamenei himself.
While Russian President Putin has denounced Israel’s recent airstrikes in the region, he has so far remained silent on the U.S. strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
Last week, he merely called for restraint and reiterated Russia’s willingness to mediate in the nuclear standoff.
Iranian officials reportedly believe that Russia’s support has been underwhelming so far.
Sources close to Iran told Reuters that the Islamic Republic is pressing Putin to offer more concrete backing in its confrontation with Washington and Tel Aviv, though they did not specify what form of assistance Iran is requesting.
The Kremlin confirmed that President Putin would meet with Araqchi but did not disclose any details of their planned discussion. Araqchi, speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, said that Iran and Russia were actively “coordinating their positions on the current escalation in the Middle East.”
Russia has long been a strategic partner of Iran and remains a key player in nuclear negotiations as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal that President Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018 during his first term.
However, with Russian forces deeply entrenched in a prolonged war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year, Putin appears reluctant to be drawn into a direct confrontation with the United States on Iran’s behalf, even as Trump signals interest in repairing relations with Russia.
It was also reported that Iran’s parliament over the weekend, voted in favour of shutting down the Strait of Hormuz following a series of US military strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.
The waterway, which handles around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments, is crucial for major producers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Any disruption to shipping through the strait would likely trigger a surge in global oil prices and could complicate the movement of American naval forces in the Persian Gulf.
Iranian state television reported that the country’s Supreme National Security Council would make the final decision on the proposed closure.
Esmail Kosari, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, told the Young Journalist Club that the move “will be done whenever necessary”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a live interview on FOX News, issued a strong warning to Iran over the proposed closure of Strait of Hormuz.
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it, and we retain options to deal with that,” he said.
