Putin slams attack on Iran, but offers no support to key ally
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed attacks on Iran as "unprovoked" and "unjustified" in a meeting with Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East.
"This absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran is unjustified," Putin said in televised remarks to Araghchi at the start of their meeting.
Putin has pitched himself as a mediator between Iran and Israel, an idea rejected by US President Donald Trump last week.
Araghchi told Putin that Russia has been a "partner and companion" to Tehran and hailed ties between Tehran and Moscow "very close and longstanding".
"Iran is exercising legitimate defence against these aggressions," he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Ukraine army chief pledges to expand strikes on Russia
Ukraine's top military commander vowed to increase the 'scale and depth' of strikes on Russia in remarks made public on Sunday, saying Kyiv would not sit idly by while Moscow prolonged its three-year invasion. Diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled in recent weeks. The last direct meeting between the two sides was almost three weeks ago and no follow-up talks have been scheduled. Russian attacks on Ukraine have killed dozens of people during the interim, including in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to officials. 'We will not just sit in defence. Because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories,' Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky told reporters including the media. Syrsky said Ukraine would continue its strikes on Russian military targets, which he said had proved 'effective'. 'Of course, we will continue. We will increase the scale and depth,' he said. Medical workers help a woman in the yard of an apartment building destroyed after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early on Monday. AP Ukraine has launched retaliatory strikes on Russia throughout the war, targeting energy and military infrastructure sometimes hundreds of kilometres from the front line. Kyiv says the strikes are a fair response to deadly Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians. At least four people were killed in an overnight Russian strike on an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, while a strike on a Ukrainian army training ground later in the day killed three others, officials said. In wide-ranging remarks, Syrsky conceded that Russia had some advantages in drone warfare, particularly in making fibre-optic drones that are tethered and difficult to jam. 'Here, unfortunately, they have an advantage in both the number and range of their use,' he said. He also claimed that Ukraine still held 90 square kilometres of territory in Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an audacious cross-border incursion last August. 'These are our pre-emptive actions in response to a possible enemy offensive,' he said. Russia said in April that it had gained full control of the Kursk region and denies that Kyiv has a presence there. Moscow occupies around a fifth of Ukraine and claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions as its own since launching its invasion in 2022 - in addition to Crimea, which it captured in 2014. Kyiv has accused Moscow of deliberately sabotaging a peace deal to prolong its full-scale offensive on the country and to seize more territory. The Russian army said on Sunday that it had captured the village of Petrivske in Ukraine's northeast Kharkiv region. Russian forces also fired at least 47 drones and three missiles at Ukraine between late Saturday and early on Sunday, the Ukrainian air force said. On Saturday, hundreds of Ukrainians observed the longest day of the year with a midsummer celebration of some of their oldest traditions, a display of cultural perseverance in a nation threatened by war. Rooted in Ukraine's ancient past of Slavic paganism the event, Ivana Kupala, features rituals and symbolism to honor the summer solstice, related to fertility, nature, purity and renewal - values that predate the region's Christianization at the end of the first millennium. At the open-air National Museum of Folk Architecture and Ukrainian Life on the outskirts of Kyiv, participants in embroidered shirts and blouses strolled among thatched-roof cottages, wooden churches and windmills dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Women and girls wore vinoks - wreaths made from wildflowers - as they took part in folk dances, games and craft workshops. Viktoria Phi, a master of folk art at the museum, taught visitors to weave the colorful flowered headdresses. She said that Ivana Kupala, which also has variations in other Slavic countries from the Czech Republic to Bulgaria to Russia, was a 'small oasis' in the war in Ukraine, where people can 'walk and enjoy nature, architecture, songs and dances.' 'It's most popular among young people, and I am very happy when a family comes with young children,' she said. Agencies
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israel bombs Tehran prison as Iranian missiles disrupt power supply
Israel and Iran exchanged heavy strikes on Monday in one of the most intense days of the conflict since the Israeli military launched an offensive against the Islamic Republic more than a week ago. The Israeli military said it carried out wide-ranging attacks on 'regime targets' in Tehran, including sites tied to Iran's internal security apparatus, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Evin Prison, which holds prominent political dissidents. Iran's Nour news agency reported that the detainees were safe. Iranian state and semi-official media reported that an electricity feeder station was hit in northern Tehran, leading to localised blackouts. The Qom province's crisis centre confirmed that Israel also targeted the Fordow nuclear facility, the most fortified nuclear sites in Iran, already struck by the US air force a day earlier. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The Israeli military said the attack was meant to block access routes to the site. The Iranian people will never forgive or forget US-Israeli attacks Read More » Iranian student media also reported a strike at Shahid Beheshti University. The air strike came shortly after a barrage of Iranian missiles that triggered sirens across Israel for over 30 minutes on Monday morning. Explosions were heard throughout the country, caused either by direct missile impacts or interceptor defences. Israeli authorities reported damage "near a strategic infrastructure facility" in the south, which disrupted power supply. However, military censorship restricts public disclosure, leaving the full extent of the Iranian strikes unclear. Search and rescue teams were deployed to multiple locations where missile impacts were confirmed, though no casualties were reported. Iran seeks Russia's help As exchanges of fire escalated, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Reuters, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had dispatched Araghchi to Moscow to deliver a message to Putin personally. In a press conference in Moscow attended by Putin and Aragchi, the Russian president condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, saying: "Russia's position in supporting Iran is clear. We reject the Israeli aggression, and it has no justification whatsoever." Putin added that Russia "was trying to help the people of Iran", although he did not give any details of what assistance Russia would provide to Tehran. Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran is frustrated with the lack of robust Russian support and is seeking a stronger commitment in the face of intensifying Israeli and US actions. The Iranian foreign minister, speaking to Russia's Tass agency, said Tehran and Moscow were 'coordinating their positions' on the current crisis. Since 13 June, Israeli strikes in Iran have killed at least 430 people and wounded 3,500, according to health officials. Independent sources suggest the death toll could be much higher. Meanwhile, Iranian missile attacks have killed at least 25 people and wounded 2,500, according to Israeli officials.
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Putin slams attack on Iran, but offers no support to key ally
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed attacks on Iran as "unprovoked" and "unjustified" in a meeting with Tehran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East. "This absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran is unjustified," Putin said in televised remarks to Araghchi at the start of their meeting. Putin has pitched himself as a mediator between Iran and Israel, an idea rejected by US President Donald Trump last week. Araghchi told Putin that Russia has been a "partner and companion" to Tehran and hailed ties between Tehran and Moscow "very close and longstanding". "Iran is exercising legitimate defence against these aggressions," he added.
