Putin meets Khamenei's senior aide in Kremlin, discusses Iran's nuclear programme
Moscow, Jul 20 (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday received Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei’s senior aide here and discussed the aggravation of the situation in West Asia and issues of Iran’s nuclear programme.
The visit by Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, comes almost a month after Putin met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“On behalf of the Iranian leadership, Ali Larijani shared the assessments of the current escalation in the Middle East and the situation around the Iranian nuclear programme,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters without elaborating.
On June 23, President Putin during his meeting with Araghchi had assured Tehran of Moscow's support in de-escalating the Israel-Iran conflict hours after the US strikes at Iranian nuclear sites at dawn on June 22.
Moscow and Tehran have signed a strategic partnership treaty, but it does not provide for military assistance in case any side is attacked.
However, Tehran and Moscow under the treaty have an obligation not to take the side of the aggressor and enter into urgent political consultations to mitigate the situation.
Russia supports Tehran’s right to pursue its civil nuclear research under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) oversight.
Earlier reports said Larijani had played a key role as the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament in the negotiation and eventual approval of the now defunct Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
He was instrumental in navigating domestic political complexities and securing parliamentary support for the agreement, which involved significant concessions from Iran in exchange for sanctions relief.
However, US President Donald Trump had walked out of the deal in his first term under pressure from Israel.
In his second term, Trump ordered the bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites and demanded the complete end to Tehran’s enrichment activities under civilian nuclear programme, allowed under NPT to which Iran is a signatory.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
