MOSCOW, June 23. /TASS/. Russia and Iran maintain close relations that are strategic in nature, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Our relations are very close and kind. They have been strategic in nature over the past few years," Iran’s top diplomat said. He conveyed warm wishes from the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Putin. Also, Araghchi said, Russia has always been Iran’s partner in the civilian nuclear sphere and played a positive role in talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Araghchi arrived in Moscow for a meeting with the Russian leader on Sunday evening.
Overnight into June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, the Islamic Republic carried out a retaliatory strike. Mutual strikes are ongoing. Both sides reported casualties and damage, and acknowledged several facilities had been hit. The United States joined the armed conflict nine days after its escalation: in the early hours on June 22, American bombers attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. Russia condemned the Israeli and US aggression.