Iran’s Larijani Meets with Putin in Moscow

The Russian Interfax news agency reported that Larijani and Putin held a meeting.

Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia Kazem Jalali also confirmed the report, saying the top Iranian security official and the Russian president held talks in the Kremlin.

The main focus of the talks was the expansion of bilateral relations, especially economic relations between the two countries.

The two sides also consulted on important regional and international issues.

The meeting came as US President Donald Trump has escalated rhetoric, threatening new military action against Iran.

Washington recently deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying strike group to West Asia near Iran.

Senior Iranian officials say Tehran does not oppose dialogue and diplomacy, provided it is genuine, balanced, and based on mutual respect with concrete guarantees.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned on Wednesday that diplomacy imposed under military threats cannot be effective or productive.

Iranian officials have also warned that there will be a firm military response to any act of aggression against the country./tasnim