Iran's supreme leader asks Putin to do more after US strikes
ISTANBUL/MOSCOW: Iran's supreme leader sent his foreign minister to Moscow on Monday to ask President Vladimir Putin for more help from Russia after the biggest U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution over the weekend.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, a step Russia fears could sink the Middle East into the abyss.
While Putin has condemned the Israeli strikes, he has yet to comment on the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites though he last week called for calm and offered Moscow's services as a mediator over the nuclear programme.
A senior source told Reuters that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was due to deliver a letter from Khamenei to Putin, seeking the latter's support.
Iran has not been impressed with Russia's support so far, Iranian sources told Reuters, and the country wants Putin to do more to back it against Israel and the United States.
The sources did not elaborate on what assistance Tehran wanted.
The Kremlin said that Putin would receive Araqchi but did not say what would be discussed.
Araqchi was quoted by the state TASS news agency as saying that Iran and Russia were coordinating their positions on the current escalation in the Middle East.
Putin has repeatedly offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, and said that he had conveyed Moscow's ideas on resolving the conflict to them while ensuring Iran's continued access to civil nuclear energy.
The Kremlin chief last week refused to discuss the possibility that Israel and the United States would kill Khamenei.
Putin said that Israel had given Moscow assurances that Russian specialists helping to build two more reactors at the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran would not be hurt in air strikes.
Russia, a longstanding ally of Tehran, plays a role in Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West as a veto-wielding UN Security Council member and a signatory to an earlier nuclear deal Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.
Iran weighs retaliation against US for strikes on nuclear sites
But Putin, whose army is fighting a major war of attrition in Ukraine for the fourth year, has so far shown little appetite in public for diving into a confrontation with the United States over Iran just as Trump seeks to repair ties with Moscow.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Seven killed, dozens injured as Russian strikes hit Kyiv
Listen to article At least seven people were killed and more than two dozen injured after Russian drones and missiles struck Kyiv and its surrounding region overnight, Ukrainian officials said on Monday. The attacks sparked fires in residential areas, destroyed parts of high-rise buildings, and damaged metro infrastructure, prompting fresh outrage amid Moscow's intensifying aerial campaign. Six of the victims were killed in Kyiv's central Shevchenkivskyi district, where an entire section of a multi-storey building was reduced to rubble. Among the injured were four children, authorities said. Read: Russia launches massive drone attack on Ukraine, hits Kyiv and Odesa maternity ward Another casualty was reported in the city of Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv, where a hospital was struck by a drone. At least eight others were injured in the broader Kyiv region. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko warned that more people may be trapped under the debris as search operations continued across six of the city's 10 districts. Photos from Ukraine's State Emergency Service showed rescuers pulling residents from flaming debris as buildings continued to burn in the early hours. In one of the hardest-hit areas, the entrance to a metro station in Kyiv's Sviatoshynskyi district commonly used as a bomb shelter was damaged along with a nearby bus stop. The country's air force said it shot down 339 of the 352 drones and 15 of 16 missiles launched by Russia in the overnight barrage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is visiting the United Kingdom, said he would discuss bolstering Ukraine's air defence and pressing Russia diplomatically to halt the strikes. The attack follows one of the deadliest barrages on the capital last week, which killed 28 people and wounded more than 150. Moscow has not commented on the most recent attack. Both Russia and Ukraine deny targeting civilians, though thousands of Ukrainian non-combatants have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Read more: Ukraine receives another 1,200 bodies from Russia This latest escalation came days after previous Russian air raids struck sports facilities and damaged dormitories at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The repeated targeting of civilian sites has raised alarm among aid agencies and Kyiv's allies. Earlier this year, a separate Russian strike damaged a Kyiv metro entrance used as a bomb shelter the same pattern repeated in the latest assault.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Israel assassinates IRGC members in Iran as missile strikes hit nuclear sites
Members of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) navy participate in an exercise in Abu Musa Island, in this picture obtained on August 2, 2023. IRGC/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Listen to article At least 10 members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were assassinated in Israeli air strikes on the central province of Yazd on Sunday, Iranian media stated. Iran has not yet responded publicly to the reported deaths in Yazd. The IRGC, a powerful branch of Iran's military reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, plays a central role in the country's foreign operations and oversees its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. It comprises around 190,000 active personnel and was designated a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2019. An unspecified number of other IRGC personnel were also wounded in the strikes, which mark one of the deadliest Israeli attacks on Iranian territory since tensions escalated earlier this month, reported semi-official Tasnim News Agency. Israel has not officially confirmed the strike in Yazd but claims it has assassinated around two dozen Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists since June 13. Israeli air strikes have killed several top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists, including the commander of the IRGC Hossein Salami, in one of the most direct and deadly escalations between the two countries to date. IRGC has begun using the Kheibar Shekan missile—also known as the Khorramshahr-4—which was unveiled in 2022 and is believed to carry the heaviest payload among Iran's ballistic missiles. IRGC said its latest missile strikes targeted Ben Gurion International Airport and several research sites in Israel. Read: Timeline of Iran's nuclear programme Meanwhile, Iranian state media has confirmed the deaths of at least four senior military officials in Israeli strikes, including Salami, Armed Forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC aerospace commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and General Gholamali Rashid. The attacks also killed six prominent nuclear scientists and wounded hundreds, as Israel targeted key infrastructure sites across Iran, including the uranium enrichment facility in Natanz. After the assasinations, Khamenei appointed Ahmad Vahidi as the new IRGC chief and Majid Mousavi as head of its aerospace division. The initial wave of Israeli strikes, involving approximately 200 fighter jets, hit multiple Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Arak, Tabriz, and Kermanshah. In Kermanshah, near the Iraqi border, an underground ballistic missile storage facility was reportedly destroyed. Iranian authorities initially reported at least 80 people killed and over 320 wounded in the first round of attacks. However, updated figures from Human Rights Activists (HRA), a Washington-based monitoring group, indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 950 people and injured more than 3,450 across Iran to date. Read more: Global turmoil If Iran shuts Strait of Hormuz — but Pakistan may get a pass HRA reported that among the dead are 380 civilians and 253 members of Iran's security forces. The group, known for documenting the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, cross-checks local reports with an independent network inside the country. Iran's government has not issued consistent nationwide casualty updates during the conflict. Its most recent count, released by the Health Ministry, reported 400 deaths and over 3,000 injuries—figures significantly lower than HRA's estimates. Among the injured is senior Iranian diplomat Ali Shamkhani, who has been leading negotiations with the United States. He is reported to be in critical condition following the strikes.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Russian streamer Stepan Scoffy detained after desecrating flag for $12 donation
Streamer Stepan Scoffy was detained live on air after tearing down a Russian flag bearing President Putin's image in exchange for a 1,000-ruble donation. The 28-year-old, who has over 200,000 followers on Twitch and 2,000 on YouTube and broadcasts from Kudrovo in the Leningrad region, removed the flag from his wall, crumpled it, and tossed it aside, saying, 'F**k this flag.' The clip, which quickly spread across social media, drew sharp backlash. One viewer urged Scoffy to delete the stream, to which he responded dismissively, stating he did not care who might come for him. Scoffy later issued an apology, saying, 'Sorry to anyone I offended,' and claimed the footage was taken out of context. However, the next day, during another stream where he performed donation-based challenges in a playground, law enforcement officers tackled him from behind and detained him on camera. Russian media outlets report that Scoffy could face criminal charges under laws against desecrating state symbols, which carry a penalty of up to one year in prison. Authorities also cited hooliganism in connection with the incident. The incident has sparked debate online, highlighting the legal risks faced by content creators in Russia who challenge national symbols or leadership imagery in broadcasts.
