Putin pledges support for Iran as Araghchi visits Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St Petersburg on Monday, April 27, and told him he hoped the Iranian people would weather what he described as a "difficult period" and that peace would soon prevail.

"For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible," Putin told Araghchi, according to Russian state media.

Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which Moscow has condemned. It has also repeatedly offered to store Iran's enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, an offer the United States has not taken up.

Iran sealed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Moscow in 2025. Russia is building two new nuclear units at Bushehr, the site of Iran's only nuclear power plant, and Iran has supplied Moscow with Shahed drones for use against Ukraine.

"Last week I received a message from Iran's Supreme Leader. I would like to ask you to convey my most sincere thanks for this and to confirm that Russia, like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship," Putin added.

Araghchi blames US for talks failure
Araghchi landed in Russia following trips to mediators Pakistan and Oman to discuss the widening conflict, as peace efforts between Tehran and Washington remain on hold.

According to AFP, which cited Iranian state media, Araghchi said upon arrival that the United States was responsible for the failure of a first round of negotiations in Pakistan in mid-April.

"The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands," Araghchi was quoted as saying.

He also said that "safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important global issue." The strait's effective closure amid the conflict has led to massive disruptions in the global oil and gas supply.

Iran is said to have offered the United States a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, with Axios reporting that Tehran wanted nuclear negotiations postponed to a later stage. Trump appeared to have acknowledged the proposal, with a White House spokesperson saying on Saturday that the "US holds the cards" in negotiations.