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Iran Makes Direct Plea to Putin After US, Israel Strikes | Avi Melamed’s insights quoted in this article by Brendan Cole and Barney Henderson for NEWSWEEK.
Iran’s supreme leader has written to Vladimir Putin directly asking for help, as the country’s foreign minister, who is holding in-person talks with the Russian leader, urged Moscow to “confront shared challenges and threats” after U.S. and Israeli air strikes.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will hand the letter from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Putin in Moscow on Monday, Reuters reported citing an unnamed senior source, after U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Tehran’s nuclear sites. The full contents of the letter have not been reported.
“We have always had shared concerns, worries, and adversaries with Russia. We have always shared common beliefs and consulted closely with each other to confront shared challenges and threats. This is what will be done on Monday during the meeting with the Russian president,” Araqchi said on Iran’s state broadcaster, Russian state media reported.
In response, Putin told Araqchi that Russia was “making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people,” Russian state news agency Tass reported. The Russian leader called the military strikes on Iran “unjustified” and “absolutely unprovoked aggression.”
Why It Matters
Iran’s talks with Putin will be closely watched in the U.S.
Russia and Iran have deepened their military ties since the start of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. That includes Tehran providing the Shahed drones integral to Moscow’s strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure.
In January, Iran signed a partnership agreement with Russia although the deal did not include any provision for mutual defense. Yet Iran’s moves show Tehran is eager to find support from a key nuclear ally.
What To Know
Araqchi arrived in Moscow on Monday morning following the U.S. strikes on Saturday night, which used 30,000-pound “bunker-buster” bombs on three nuclear sites. The U.S. struck over fears Iran was trying to build nuclear weapons; Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and focused on boosting energy production in the oil-rich state.
Putin signed the Russian-Iranian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on January 17. But there was no mutual defense element to the deal, and Moscow has not offered Tehran any support following the U.S. attacks apart from its condemnation.
Reuters said that Iranian officials are not happy with Russia’s reaction so far to the attacks by Israel and then the U.S.
Gregg Roman, executive director of think tank Middle East Forum, told Newsweeklast week that it was notable that Russia had its own Shahed drone manufacturing plant in which is expanding domestic production of the Iranian technology. “The Russians got what they wanted out of Iran,” Roman said.
Meanwhile, Middle East analyst Avi Melamed told Newsweek on Sunday following the U.S. attacks on its nuclear sites, Iran can either escalate, which may threaten the regime’s survival or to negotiate, which would preserve its power base “while swallowing a bitter pill.”
But regarding negotiation, the onus will be on China to pressure Iran to de-escalate, Melamed added.
What People Are Saying
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi: “We have always had shared concerns, worries, and adversaries with Russia. We have always shared common beliefs and consulted closely with each other to confront shared challenges and threats.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Araqchi, according to Tass, that the U.S. strikes were part of “an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran, and that Russia was “making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people.”
Middle East analyst Avi Melamed told Newsweek on Sunday: “The Iranian regime now faces two paths, both of which it perceives as choosing the lesser of two evils. One option is to continue the military confrontation. The other is to return to the negotiating table.”
“In this context, China’s role is worth watching closely. It is likely that Beijing will exert quiet but deliberate pressure on Iran to de-escalate and resume negotiations.”
What Happens Next
Araghchi will meet with Putin and other senior Russian officials for talks on later on Monday as speculation mounts over what Iran’s next move will be.
Iran Makes Direct Plea to Putin After US, Israel Strikes | Avi Melamed’s insights quoted in this article by Brendan Cole and Barney Henderson for NEWSWEEK.
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