Iran's Foreign Minister Calls Russian Counterpart Amid Turmoil

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a call with his Russian counterpart, said on Saturday he was confident Russia would get through current events in the country.

Amir-Abdollahian "voiced support for the rule of law in all countries, including Russia - a neighbor and a friend... and said he was confident that Russia would get through this stage," state media said in a brief report about the phone call with Sergei Lavrov.

Iran and Russia do not share any borders but are close military and diplomatic allies who have fought together in Syria since 2015 to save the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the country’s 12-year civil war.

Tehran’s military ties with Moscow have expanded since the invasion of Ukraine, with Iran supplying hundreds of kamikaze drones that Russia has used against civilian and military targets. Western powers have strongly objected to Iran’s move. The United States has said that stopping its weapons supplies is one of the conditions if Iran wants to see progress in nuclear negotiations and lifting of economic sanctions.

Earlier in the day, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman had also used the same wording in describing Tehran’s reaction to a military rebellion by the head of the mercenary Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

While Tehran might be concerned about Putin’s hold on power, Iranians opposed to the regime have expressed satisfaction that Russian leader is facing domestic turmoil.