During the phone call, initiated by the Iranian side, Russian President Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi discussed in detail “the aggravated situation in the Middle East after the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus and the retaliatory measures taken by Iran,” according to a statement issued by Kremlin.
At this time, Raisi has not yet called any other world leaders in the aftermath of the Iranian counterattack.
Dr. Vladimir Morozov, Associate Professor and Vice-Rector at MGIMO University, commented on this development by noting that whoever initiates such calls usually indicates which of the interlocutors is more interested in holding the conversation.
According to Morozov, making this call was a logical move for the Iranian president, considering the friendly nature of the relations between Russia and Iran.
“I believe Iran regards our country not just as a formal sponsor of the Middle Eastern conflict resolution, but as a country that can influence all sides of the conflict and has a vote in the UN Security Council,” he said, adding that Tehran is perfectly aware of the fact that the issue of Iran and Israel exchanging strikes is far from resolved.
Thus, he argued, it was important for the Iranian leadership to show their people that Tehran has influential friends abroad, partners with whom the Islamic Republic can discuss the current situation.
Regarding the upcoming visit to Moscow by the Iranian deputy foreign minister, who is expected to participate in a non-proliferation conference this week, Morozov pointed out that Western powers have yet to present any evidence backing their claims that Iran may be working on a nuclear weapon.
“We all remember the situation with Iraq and how Colin Powell was waving a vial at a UNSC session, accusing Saddam Hussein’s regime of possessing weapons of mass destruction which, as expected, no one found after Iraq was invaded that the regime was toppled,” he said. “The same thing has been going over the past few decades with Iran who is being accused of being poised to build a nuclear bomb in the next two months.”
Instead of trying to portray Iran as some kind of threat to global security, efforts should be made to involve Iran in discussions on regional security, to cooperate with the country, Morozov suggested.
He also cautioned that other countries in the Middle East should be mindful of the current crossroads they are facing: either they pursue negotiations and peace efforts, albeit fragile, or the situation in the region could quickly spiral into "a very serious escalation, up to World War III."