Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iran's Foreign Minister on Monday that US attacks on Iran were "unprovoked and unjustified", but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East.
The Russian leader said he wanted to discuss with Abbas Araghchi “how to get out of today’s situation”.
Russia was "making efforts to help the Iranian people". Mr Putin said in the meeting, without elaborating. Mr Araghchi's visit to Moscow comes shortly after the US entered the Iran-Israel war by bombing Iranian nuclear sites, including the flagship nuclear research centre at Fordow.
Since Israel launched its wave of strikes on June 13, prompting Iran to respond with missiles and drones, Russia has not publicly offered military help to Tehran.
Instead, Mr Putin has pitched himself as a mediator between Iran and Israel, an idea rejected by US President Donald Trump. Mr Putin has said Iran has a right to develop a civilian nuclear energy programme.
Mr Araghchi told Mr Putin that Russia has been a "partner and companion" to Tehran and described ties with Moscow as "very close and longstanding".
"Iran is exercising legitimate defence against these aggressions," Mr Araghchi said at the Kremlin, the day after the US strike on Iranian nuclear sites. "Russia is today on the right side of history and international law."
As he arrived for the talks, the minister said Tehran and Moscow were co-ordinating their positions on the escalation in the Middle East.
Russia has called the US attacks a breach of international law. Russian technicians have been assisting with Iran's nuclear power operations, with hundreds of experts stationed at the Bushehr plant on the Gulf coast. The site uses Russian fuel that Moscow then takes back when it is spent to reduce the risk of proliferation.
“We always think together, support each other and consult closely to confront common challenges and threats, and this is what will be done ... in the meeting with the Russian President,” Mr Araghchi said before direct talks with Mr Putin.
“In these new dangerous circumstances, where the international system is actually threatened, our consultations with Russia can certainly be of great importance and we are trying to co-ordinate each other's positions.”
Mr Araghchi questioned the relevance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which Iran is a signatory, if the UN and other international institutions fail to prevent attacks such as that launched by Washington.
“It is natural that this raises the big question of what role the NPT plays in protecting the interests of countries that are interested in entering the field of peaceful nuclear energy,” he said.
“The US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has severely questioned the NPT and shaken the non-proliferation regime, and will have adverse consequences for international security.”
Footage of American and Israeli strikes on Iran
Mr Putin held a separate phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani on Monday to discuss growing hostilities in the Middle East. The two leaders expressed concern about risks to global energy markets and stressed the importance of continuing co-operation within the OPEC alliance.
On Sunday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi insisted Tehran will not stop enriching uranium. He said the country’s nuclear programme “will not be halted”.
“No one can tell us what we should or should not do, as long as we remain within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Mr Takht-Ravanchi said, according to state media.
Mr Araghchi was in Moscow as the war between Iran and Israel entered its 11th day. On Monday, Israel's army said it had struck military sites in Kermanshah, western Iran. It also said it had intercepted missiles from Iran in the latest exchange of fire. Sirens sounded across Israel early in the day.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people since the war began, Iran's Health Ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.
US President Donald Trump, who ordered Washington's intervention in the conflict late on Saturday, hinted at possible regime change in Iran.
“It’s not politically correct to use the term 'regime change', but if the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn’t there be a regime change? Maga,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, in a reference to his conservative movement Make America Great Again.
He added in a separate post that the B-2 bombers that carried out the strikes on Iran's nuclear sites had landed back in Missouri. “Thank you for a job well done,” he wrote.
