Rezaei delivers Leader’s message to Putin, reaffirms Iran’s conditions for diplomacy

TEHRAN – Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), delivered a message from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei to Russian President Vladimir Putin during an unannounced visit to Moscow on Thursday, as discussions focused on the war against Iran, regional security and the conditions Tehran has set for any diplomatic process. Rezaei said the Leader had instructed him to convey the message to Putin at the earliest opportunity.

The Russian president, in turn, sent his warm greetings to Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei. During his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin, Rezaei discussed major regional developments, the consequences of the US-Israeli war against Iran and prospects for regional security arrangements. Energy cooperation, including a proposed project to build gas pipelines connecting Russia and Iran, was also among the subjects raised. According to Rezaei, the proposed project could help meet Iran’s domestic natural gas requirements while creating opportunities for the transit and export of Russian gas to neighboring countries, potentially broadening regional energy cooperation.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian political-security source has rejected reports that Rezaei presented a new diplomatic initiative to Putin, describing such accounts as entirely fabricated. Speaking to Al Mayadeen, the source said some Western media outlets had published inaccurate reports about the substance of the Moscow meeting. The source stressed that the talks centered on ending the war and that Rezaei had reiterated Tehran’s position that no diplomatic process could move forward before all seven of Iran’s conditions were fully implemented.

The source also said Iran would not agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before those conditions were met and would not negotiate over that decision. Tehran, the source added, considers no diplomatic step meaningful unless all seven conditions are fulfilled in full and simultaneously. Iranian officials have repeatedly maintained that progress in any negotiations with the United States depends on Washington accepting Tehran’s conditions.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf recently said Iran had clearly and repeatedly conveyed its seven conditions to mediators, emphasizing that no progress was possible without their acceptance. He also said Washington’s policy of combining incentives with pressure would not change Iran’s position. The conditions include the lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, and an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also stressed that the United States must meet Iran’s demands if it seeks progress in negotiations or an arrangement concerning the Strait of Hormuz.