Moscow, June 23: The unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis or justification, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at a meeting with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
“Your visit to Russia comes at a complex time, a period of acute tension in the region and around your country,” Putin told Araghchi. “Our position on the ongoing events is well-known. It has been clearly outlined by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and you are aware of our stance in the UN Security Council,” Putin said.
Putin noted that Russia shares long-standing, friendly, and steadfast ties with Iran and is actively working to support the Iranian people. Araghchi said that Iran and Russia have a close relationship, one defined as “strategic in nature over the past few years” and involving Iran’s civilian nuclear programme.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the irresponsible decision to carry out missile and bomb strikes against the territory of a sovereign state — no matter what arguments are invoked — grossly violates international law, the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolutions.
The ministry called on the UN Security Council to take action and said US and Israeli confrontations must be collectively rejected. Russia called for an end to aggression and a return to negotiations, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in his first reaction following the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, said that the punishment for Israel, referred to as the “Zionist enemy,” will continue. Calling the attacks “a big crime,” Khamenei warned of retaliation.
Talking to X, he stated, “The punishment continues. The Zionist enemy has made a big mistake, committed a big crime; it must be punished, and it is being punished; it is being punished right now.”
The US strikes followed Israeli attacks launched on June 13 on various targets in Iran, including nuclear and military sites, killing several senior commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians. Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel.
As of Saturday, more than 400 people have been killed and over 3,500 wounded in Iran, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. In Israel, authorities reported 24 fatalities. Late on Sunday, in the central Isfahan province, an Israeli drone strike killed three people in an ambulance.
IANS