Moscow, Russia. President Vladimir Putin congratulated Iran’s leaders on Nowruz and said Russia remained a loyal friend and reliable partner to Tehran, the Kremlin said on Saturday. The extent of Moscow’s support for Iran remains disputed, according to Iranian sources cited in the report.
Nowruz message to Iran’s leadership
The Kremlin said Putin sent congratulations to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the Iranian new year. It said Putin wished the Iranian people to overcome “harsh trials” with dignity and stressed that Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran.
Claims and counterclaims over support
Some Iranian sources have said Iran has received little real help from Moscow in what was described as the biggest crisis for Iran since the 1979 revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed Shah.
Russia’s position on attacks and reported proposal
Russia has said U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have pushed the Middle East into the abyss and triggered a major global energy crisis. The report also said Putin condemned the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a “cynical” murder.
Politico reported that Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to Washington under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence with Iran if the United States ceased supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia, but that the United States rejected the idea. The Kremlin has dismissed the report as fake.
Strategic partnership and nuclear stance
The report said Russia benefited from high oil prices triggered by the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, described as a strategic partner, while also stating Russia was deprived of an ally when the United States toppled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
It also said the published strategic partnership does not contain a mutual defence clause, and that Russia has repeatedly said it does not want Iran to develop an atomic bomb, which Moscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.
What do you think Putin’s Nowruz message signals about Russia’s relationship with Iran?