Putin says world amazed by Iranian nation's courage and resilience

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the world is closely following developments and is amazed at the courage and resilience of the Iranian nation. Speaking at the plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow, Putin also pointed to a deep bench of high-level figures in Iran's administration, armed forces and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), describing them as people ready for self-sacrifice in the name of their people.

The remarks come months after the United States and Israel launched what the report described as an unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic, assassinating senior political and military leaders, while Tehran was engaged in indirect talks with Washington. Putin called the killing of Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, a tremendous mistake. "Mr. Larijani — I knew him personally well — was a very positively minded person, ready to seek mutually acceptable compromises, above all in the interests of the Iranian people," the Russian president said, according to TASS and RIA Novosti. "Besides any legal assessments, this is of course a mistake, because such a person would be needed today to find compromises and solutions that could bring peace to the Persian Gulf," he stated, according to Press TV.

Putin said Larijani had visited Russia for talks on Iran's enriched uranium and was a figure with whom constructive dialogue was possible. He recalled that Tehran had at one stage agreed to a Russian proposal to relocate the material, an arrangement Washington and Israel initially accepted. Moscow, he said, had already carried out such a transfer in 2015 and remained ready to repeat it. The Americans later hardened their position and demanded that the uranium go only to the United States, after which Iran toughened its own stance. Larijani, Putin said, then proposed a joint Russian-Iranian enterprise on Iranian territory to dilute the material. The Russian leader added that Moscow's offer remains on the table.

Putin also expressed hope that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and that illegal sanctions against Iran would be lifted, an objective that he said Tehran is rightfully pursuing. Once that happened, he said, there would be no reason for restrictions on passage through Hormuz or Bab el-Mandeb. "We support that," he said. Iran and Russia have deepened strategic ties in recent years in the face of sweeping US sanctions and Western isolation. A 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement was signed last year, and Moscow continues work on new units at the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Russian officials have repeatedly condemned the US-Israeli war of aggression and offered to help mediate a settlement that respects Iran's sovereignty, according to Mehr News.