Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, has delivered a letter from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He handed it over at a meeting with Putin in Moscow on Thursday (5 November). The two discussed regional security, the post-war situation and energy cooperation between Russia and Iran.
Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV reported that Rezaei met Putin amid diplomatic efforts to end Iran’s ongoing war with the United States and Israel.
After the meeting, Rezaei said he had held important talks with Putin on regional security arrangements and the post-war situation. Russian help in stopping what he called US “aggression” against Iran was also discussed.
Rezaei said Khamenei had wanted the message delivered to Putin as quickly as possible. The Moscow trip was planned about a month ago but was put off because of daily discussions on the regional military situation. He did not say what the letter contained.
In a written statement on Wednesday, Khamenei said there should not be the slightest inclination to surrender to the United States. He also called for Iran to be made stronger to achieve “absolute deterrence”.
Tehran holds to seven conditions
Tehran has demanded that seven conditions be met before it sits down with the United States to talk about ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Rezaei said on Thursday that Iran would neither open the strait nor join talks until Washington fulfils them.
He said the United States had been told of the seven conditions for diplomacy. Unless they are met, no step will be taken to open the Strait of Hormuz or to start talks.
Rezaei said Putin had again assured him that Russia was ready to help end the war. Last month the Russian president also offered every possible form of help to end the war in a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
The meeting also covered building a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran. Rezaei said it could help Iran deal with its gas shortage and open a way for Russia to sell gas to Iran’s neighbours.
He said he had also briefed Putin on a meeting of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan held in Tehran in late October, and that the Russian president welcomed the initiative. According to Rezaei, Russia, like China, believes regional security needs a regional arrangement without interference from outside powers.
The meeting took place in the Senate Palace of the Kremlin, but Putin’s office issued no immediate statement on it, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported.
Regional diplomacy
Qatar has also stepped up its diplomacy to end the war. The push has gathered pace amid fears that Iran could face fresh strikes after the US midterm elections, in which President Donald Trump’s Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Discontent had been growing in the United States as the Iran war pushed up prices.
Talks on settling the conflict are focusing on the future of the Strait of Hormuz, the US blockade of Iranian ports, sanctions and a resumption of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has meanwhile spoken by phone with the foreign ministers of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Turkey and Jordan. Iranian state media said they discussed the regional situation and the diplomatic efforts under way to restore peace.
Russia and Iran, both under Western sanctions, have tightened their diplomatic and military ties in recent years. In January 2025 the two countries signed a broad strategic partnership treaty covering trade, military cooperation, science, culture and education. It came into force in October that year. Unlike Russia’s treaty with North Korea, however, it contains no mutual defence clause.
Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said on Saturday that Iran has bought Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, to be delivered once the war is over. He told the Iranian outlet Tabnak that the aircraft were due to arrive before the war began, and that preparations and pilot training had already been completed.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report