Russia and Iran Stress Diplomacy as Only Solution to Iran Conflict Tensions
Main Diplomatic Developments in the Iran Conflict
High-Level Diplomatic Meetings
Sept 25 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart met on Thursday and Moscow said both agreed that only a diplomatic settlement could end tension in the Middle East sparked by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Discussions at the UN General Assembly
"Current regional and international issues were discussed with emphasis on the situation around Iran," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement after Lavrov and Iran's Abbas Araqchi met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"It was stressed that there is no alternative to a diplomatic settlement of the crisis provoked by the illegal actions of the United States and Israel."
Strategic Cooperation and Military Ties
Russia-Iran Strategic Partnership
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation partnership in 2025 which provides for a deepening of bilateral ties and closer defence cooperation, but includes no mutual defence clause.
Military Know-How and Equipment Exchange
Each side has provided the other with military know-how and equipment.
Statements from Iranian Leadership
Iran's Response to Russian Support
Pezeshkian thanked Vladimir Putin earlier this month for Moscow's position on the Iran war and said together, Moscow and Tehran can resist what he called US "unilateralism".
Prospects for Ending the Iran Conflict
Pezeshkian said in an interview published on Thursday that it was up to the US to choose when the Iran war would end, when asked if the conflict could end by the end of the year.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Michael Perry)