Iran FM Meets Putin Amid Stalled US Peace Talks

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Monday, seeking Moscow's support amid stalled peace talks with the United States to end a war that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

The meeting, which lasted over an hour and a half, focused on bilateral ties, regional developments and Russia's potential role in diplomacy. Putin praised the Iranian people for fighting "courageously and heroically" for their sovereignty and said Moscow would do everything possible to achieve peace in West Asia "as soon as possible." He offered mediation services acceptable to all parties. Araghchi described relations between Tehran and Moscow as a strategic partnership that would develop "regardless of circumstances" and thanked Russia for its solidarity.

Araghchi's visit capped a whirlwind diplomatic tour that included two stops in Pakistan and one in Oman. In Islamabad, he held "productive" consultations with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and passed written messages to the U.S. outlining Iran's red lines, including demands to end the war and naval blockade before addressing its nuclear program and...