Iran makes a rare gesture, addressing the Kremlin leader directly. The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamena, sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin a personal letter, in the context in which the Tehran accuses unjustified aggression on the US and Israel on nuclear installations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ayatollahul Ali Khomeini/Photo: X
The letter was officially handed over by the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, on Monday for direct discussions with Russian officials. According to Reuters, which cites a high -ranking diplomatic source, the Misiva occurs just two days after American attacks on three Iranian nuclear goals.
“We share concerns, threats and common opponents with the Russian Federation. We have always consulted in the face of strategic challenges and international crises. We will continue this collaboration line and during the meeting with the Russian President,” Araghchi said in an interview with the Iranian public television, quoted by the Russian press.
President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, has firmly condemned recent attacks, qualifying them as “absolutely unprovocated aggression” and transmitted that Russia “makes efforts to support the Iranian people,” according to the TASS agency.
More and more close relationships but without defense guarantees
The Moscow meeting is carefully watched in Washington, especially in the context in which military relations between Iran and Russia have intensified since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, in February 2022. The Tehran delivered to Shahed Drone, used intensely in attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
However, the strategic partnership agreement signed in January between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian does not include a mutual defense clause. And this detail weighs hard now, given that Russia has so far offered anything other than a diplomatic condemnation of American attacks.
According to Reuters, several Iranian officials would be dissatisfied with the Kremlin's retained reaction. In fact, analysts point out that Moscow has already obtained what he needed from this relationship – cheap and efficient military technology. “The Russians have achieved their goal: they now have an internal production line for Shahed drones. Mutual support no longer seems to be,” comments Gregg Roman, director of the Think Tank Middle East Forum, quoted by Newsweek.
Tension between confrontation and negotiation
Following the 13 -ton penetrating bombs launched by the US on Iranian nuclear facilities, the Tehran regime is at a crossroads. “Iran has two options: either it escalates, risking the destabilization of the regime, or returns to the negotiation table, which could save its influence, but at the price of a diplomatic withdrawal,” says AVI Melamed analyst.
It warns that China's role becomes essential in this context. Beijing, which maintains economic relations with Iran, could exert discreet pressure for crisis relaxation.
Abbas Araghchi had a high-level discussions in the Kremlin Monday, at a time when the plans of the post-attack Iran are still uncertain. The symbolic support of Russia seems insufficient in the face of a possible regional confrontation.
