Putin calls the attack on Iran an "unjustified aggression"

Moscow.- Russian President Vladimir Putin, today labeled the attacks perpetrated against Iran by the United States and Israel as "unjustified aggression" when meeting in the Kremlin with the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, Abbas Araqchi.

"The absolutely unjustified aggression against Iran has no basis or justification," he said at the beginning of the meeting broadcast live on television. Putin, who sent his "best wishes" to the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, emphasized that Russia "is making efforts to help the Iranian people."

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He highlighted that the visit of the head of Iranian diplomacy takes place "in a difficult period of acute aggravation of the situation in the region (Middle East) and its surroundings". "We have good and reliable relations with Iran," he said, and emphasized that the Russian position on this matter is "well known" and has been presented in the UN Security Council UN. For his part, Araqchi thanked Putin for "firmly condemning aggressive actions", whether Israeli or American, and recalled that Russian-Iranian relations now have a "strategic character". "Russia is on the right side of history and international law today (...) I hope that today we can address the entire spectrum of issues related to these events," he said. He denounced that "the level of escalation increases every day (...), because they decided to attack our nuclear facilities, not only Israel, but also the Americans". "The aggressive actions of Israel and the U.S. are absolutely illegitimate and violate international rules and norms. And we are now defending our sovereignty and our defense has a legitimate character," he affirmed. Shortly before, at a press conference, the Kremlin spokesman assured that he expected Araqchi to present to Putin today what Iran needs from Russia amid the bombing campaign by the United States and Israel. "Everything depends on what Iran needs now," said Dmitri Peskov, presidential spokesman, at his daily telephone press briefing, when asked about what Russia is willing to do to help the Islamic republic. Peskov stressed that Araqchi will present "his proposals and his vision of the situation" in the Kremlin. “We believe that all countries have the right to the peaceful atom, they have the right to manage nuclear power plants, to create their own peaceful nuclear energy sector. We insist on this position,” he added later. Furthermore, he asserted that the attacks, which he considered "unprecedented," would have unpredictable consequences for the world, although always negative. Last week, Putin ruled out possible Russian participation in the conflict, claiming that this option is not contemplated by the strategic partnership agreement signed by both countries at the beginning of the year. Peskov warned of both the escalation and the risk of radioactive contamination, as well as the participation of more actors in the conflict, alluding to the US bombing on Saturday, and denied that the US President, Donald Trump, had informed Moscow "in detail" beforehand. Regarding a possible telephone contact between Putin and Trump, Peskov assured that, although it is not planned, it can occur "at any moment".