Russiaupdated 1h ago2 min read
Lavrov Pledges Support for Iran as Russia Deepens Ties With Abbas Araghchi in Tehran
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Lavrov pledged Moscow's support for Iran during talks with Araghchi and Pezeshkian. Araghchi said Iran-Russia relations have never been closer.
The Jerusalem Post was read line by line by the Watchdog: 0.0. See the score →
Lavrov in Tehran
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran, pledging Moscow’s support for Iran as the US-Iran crisis reshaped regional diplomacy. Araghchi wrote on X that “Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now,” after Lavrov’s visit began with talks in Tehran. Lavrov’s visit aimed to shore up a wartime partnership and shape what happens next, with Nader Hashemi saying Lavrov’s “primary motive is to solidify that alliance”.
“Never in our history have Iran and Russia worked as closely as now.”
Russia and Iran signed a 20-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty in Moscow in January 2025, and the treaty has no mutual defence clause. Lavrov said Russian specialists who had left Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant would “gradually return.”
Sanctions, oil, and leverage
The US-Iran war pushed up oil prices and handed Moscow a windfall, after Iran effectively closed Hormuz. Brent crude rose from around $72 a barrel to as high as $120 a barrel in March and April, and on Tuesday Brent was trading at above $109 a barrel. By April revenue from Russia’s biggest oil tax had roughly doubled to about $9bn, according to Reuters calculations, as buyers unable to get supplies from the Gulf switched.
The US Treasury issued waivers allowing sales of Russian oil already loaded at sea, and this month it waived sanctions on Russian diesel until April 2027. Trump suspended newly passed sanctions on Russia and on buyers of its oil and gas, and the move sparked outrage among members of his own Republican Party.
Diplomacy and disputed support
Iran and Russia used Lavrov’s Tehran meetings to press for political solutions, with Araghchi saying “Our shared view is that regional issues have no military solution and must be pursued through political means.” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian government and people for support during the war in his meeting with Lavrov, according to the Iranian presidency. Lavrov said Russia had no intention of abandoning economic and investment agreements with Iran despite the war, while pointing to continued cooperation on energy and transport projects including the planned Rasht-Astara railway.
Lavrov said Moscow had provided humanitarian assistance during the war and would continue supplying food to Iran. US President Donald Trump dismissed intelligence reports that Russia and China supplied Iran with satellite imagery and weapons components, while Al Jazeera quoted John Lough saying the Kremlin was using the opportunity to align Russian and American interests on Ukraine.