President Vladimir Putin met with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the Kremlin on Friday during an unannounced high-level discussion. The encounter highlights ongoing diplomatic effos between Moscow and Tehran against a backdrop of escalating frictions between Iran and the United States.
Details of the Meeting
Larijani, a key adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, assumed his current role last August. He last visited Moscow in the summer, sholy after U.S. airstrikes targeted Iranian nuclear facilities. Kremlin officials confirmed the reception but provided no specifics on the agenda.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, indicated that the talks centered on strengthening bilateral relations and included consultations on pressing regional and international matters.
Context of U.S.-Iran Tensions
The meeting occurs soon after the United States imposed sanctions on Larijani this month, citing his purpoed role in the forceful handling of anti-government protests that erupted in Iran late last December. These demonstrations initially stemmed from economic hardships but have since intensified.
Iranian authorities describe the unrest as an externally orchestrated plot, claiming foreign actors supplied weapons to protesters to incite a severe government crackdown and pave the way for potential U.S. involvement.
Earlier this month, Putin spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to address the protests and underscore the robustness of ties between the two nations.
U.S. Military Posturing and Iranian Response
At the peak of the protests, U.S. President Donald Trump nearly authorized retaliatory strikes against Iran. Although he has postponed a final call, the administration has deployed a naval task force to the region to compel Tehran toward a revised nuclear agreement.
U.S. military preparations persist, with officials weighing actions from assaults on Iranian security units and nuclear installations to strikes against high-ranking figures—intended to fuel fuher domestic opposition.
In response to Trump’s warnings of an assault more severe than prior operations, Iranian leaders pledged to safeguard the nation and retaliate unprecedentedly. As both countries conduct military exercises in the area, cautions about accidental escalation and misjudgments intensify.
