A longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian leaders, including the president and top security officials, as the Islamic Republic weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.
Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Iran last week, and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could plunge the Middle East into a wider regional war.
In the broadcast of Russian television stations StarSergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council, was seen meeting with Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who also serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.
Shoigu, who was Russia's defense minister before being moved to the security council in May, will also meet President Masoud Pezeshkian, Zvezda said.
“In Tehran, the secretary of the Russian Security Council is scheduled to meet with the president, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the chief of the General Staff,” according to Zvezda TV.
Although Putin has not commented publicly on the recent escalation in Middle East tensions, senior Russian officials have said those behind Haniyeh's killing were seeking to derail hopes for peace in the Middle East and draw the US into military action.
Iran blamed Israel and said it would “punish” Israel; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility for the killing of the Hamas leader.
Iran supports Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza, and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, whose senior military commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut last week.
Russia has been fostering extensive cooperation with the Islamic Republic since the start of its war with Ukraine, and has said it is preparing to sign a broad cooperation agreement with Iran.
Reuters reported last February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.
The US said in June that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of drone which was used to attack Ukraine, something Moscow denies.
Russia said Friday it joined Iran in condemning the killing of the Hamas leader and pointed out the “extremely dangerous consequences of such an act.”
Washington says it has no expectation that Russia will play a productive role in defusing tensions in the region.
“We have not seen them play a productive role in this conflict since October 7. They have been, for the most part, absent. Certainly, we have not seen them do anything to urge any party to take steps to de-escalate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a daily briefing.
The US does not know why Shoigu's trip was made now, Miller said, but one possibility is to strengthen Moscow's ties with Tehran in order to seek support for its invasion of Ukraine.
“Of course, we have seen this in the security relationship between Iran and Russia before,” he added. (th/ka)
