Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Monday, calling the actions “absolutely unprovoked” in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
"The absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification. For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people,” Putin said, per Reuters. "For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people."
Prior to the meeting, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia will offer support to Iran. Peskov called U.S. involvement a “dramatic escalation.”
“We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete. We have stated our position, which is also a very important form of support for the Iranian side,” Peskov said. “Going forward, everything will depend on what Iran needs at this moment.”
On Sunday, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, wrote in a thread on X that President Donald Trump, “once hailed as ‘president of peace,’ has now pushed the US into another war."
Putin agreed with that assessment on Monday, saying that U.S. involvement in the regional war is dangerous.
"Extra-regional powers are also being drawn into the conflict," Putin said in a meeting with military recruits. "All this brings the world to a very dangerous line."
