Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Monday as Moscow sought to keep diplomatic channels open over the conflict between Iran and the United States and the wider security crisis in the Gulf.
Araghchi said their discussions covered regional developments, the Iranian-American negotiations and the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. He blamed what he called Israeli expansion and US-Israeli aggression for insecurity around the Strait of Hormuz, while saying regional disputes had no military solution.
Lavrov said Russia remained committed to a 20-year strategic partnership agreement with Iran, which entered into force on October 2. He also said Russian specialists would gradually return to the Bushehr nuclear power plant after leaving during the war. Talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian were scheduled for later Monday.
The Tehran visit followed Lavrov’s meeting Sunday in Bahrain with ministers from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. Gulf officials urged Moscow to use its influence with Tehran to stop attacks, comply with United Nations resolutions, enter serious dialogue and restore commercial navigation through Hormuz. GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi said member states had faced more than 7,000 Iranian missiles and drones since the conflict began on February 28.
The GCC’s October 18 statement called for the waterway’s security and freedom of navigation to return to prewar conditions. It also said future negotiations should address Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, drones and support for regional armed groups, while involving Gulf states in arrangements affecting their security.
In Bahrain, Lavrov proposed a collective-security framework built around direct dialogue among Gulf coastal states and neighboring Iraq and Jordan, with possible support from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and permanent members of the UN Security Council. He said Gulf states should have the decisive voice in shaping regional security and backed diplomatic efforts to prevent a return to full-scale war.
The immediate outcome of the Tehran meetings was not stated. Lavrov’s schedule placed Russian diplomacy between two opposing demands: Iran’s insistence that the crisis resulted from military aggression and should be addressed through diplomacy, and Gulf governments’ demand that Tehran halt attacks and reopen a major international shipping route.