Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is traveling to Tehran on Monday to hold a series of meetings with top Iranian officials as Moscow seeks to position itself as a mediator in the war between Iran and the United States.
Lavrov will meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian before holding “confidential and thorough” talks with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.
“Discussions will cover the situation in the Persian Gulf and ways to resolve the acute international crisis triggered by the unlawful U.S. and Israeli aggression against Iran,” the ministry said.
The bilateral agenda will also focus on energy, transport and economic projects, it added.
Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2025 that includes provisions for countering shared threats. That pact stops short of mutual defense obligations, unlike the security agreement Russia has signed with North Korea.
Moscow is one of Tehran’s closest partners and has repeatedly condemned the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.
President Vladimir Putin told Pezeshkian earlier this month that Russia is ready to play a mediating role in ending the Middle East war.
Lavrov’s visit on Monday follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims that Russia is “doing very little, if anything” to help Iran in the war with the U.S. and Israel.
U.S. officials have minimized concerns over Russian-Iranian military ties in the wake of reports as early as March alleging that Moscow is providing Tehran with intelligence to help it strike American military forces in the Middle East.
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