Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a ceremony to receive credentials from newly arrived ambassadors at the Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia. AP
The Kremlin said Putin spoke separately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in an effort to ease tensions between the two regional rivals.
“The situation in the region is highly tense, and the president continues his efforts to facilitate de-escalation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In his call with Pezeshkian, Putin pledged to further strengthen Russia and Iran’s “strategic partnership,” the Kremlin said. Pezeshkian thanked Putin for Russia’s support for Iran at the United Nations, according to Iran’s presidency.
In his conversation with Netanyahu, the Kremlin said Russia expressed its “readiness to continue mediation efforts,” without detailing any concrete initiatives. Moscow had previously offered mediation during last June’s war between Israel and Iran.
Russia, a key ally of Tehran, is wary of any escalation that could destabilise Iran’s leadership and diminish Moscow’s influence in the Middle East. The calls marked Putin’s first public comments on the unrest in Iran and his first outreach to Iranian leaders since protests erupted.
Moscow has also sought to maintain working relations with Israel, despite Russian criticism of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
The Iranian government has accused the United States and Israel of stoking unrest, drawing a distinction between cost-of-living protests and what it describes as riots and acts of violence that have spread across the country in recent weeks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has previously said the US and Israel were intervening in the country, while dismissing the possibility of direct foreign military intervention after US threats to attack Iran.
On Thursday, in an interview with US network Fox News, Araghchi said the peaceful protests about economic hardship that began December 28 devolved into widespread violence between January 7 and 10 because the protests were infiltrated by external "elements who had a plan to create a big number of killings to provoke President Trump to enter into this conflict and start a new war against Iran."
Some rights groups based outside Iran have claimed that thousands have been killed during the security crackdown, though the figures cannot be independently verified. Anti-government activists claim at least 2,637 people were killed following a week-long internet blackout and sweeping arrests. However, Tehran has shot back, charging that armed protesters have targeted and killed a large number of security personnel.
The unrest has prompted threats of military action by the United States, Israel’s closest ally. US President Donald Trump has issued fresh warnings of the possible use of force against Tehran, as Washington and Western powers intensify sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Last June, Israel, backed by the United States, carried out strikes on Iranian civilian and military infrastructure and nuclear facilities, killing hundreds of Iranians and causing widespread damage, according to Iranian officials.
A senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman had sought to dissuade Trump from launching an attack on Iran amid the unrest, warning of “grave blowbacks in the region.”
Separately, an Arab diplomat told the Associated Press that senior officials from Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had raised concerns in the past 48 hours that a US military intervention would destabilise an already volatile region and disrupt the global economy.
The Arab officials also urged senior Iranian leaders to swiftly end the violent repression of protesters, the diplomat said, warning that any Iranian response to US action against American forces or other targets in the region would have significant repercussions for Tehran.
Asked about reports that allies were urging Trump to hold off on military action, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did not directly address the matter during a briefing.
*This story was compiled from the AFP and AP by Ahram Online.
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