Araghchi heading to Russia after US strikes on Iran

KABUL (Pajhwok): Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday announced he will travel to Moscow in the coming hours for urgent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Araghchi is visiting Russia after the United States launched airstrikes against three Iranian nuclear sites.

He emphasized the “strategic partnership” between Iran and Russia. “We always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” he told reporters in Istanbul, according to media reports.

Israel launched unilateral strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites on Friday and had been lobbying the US for months to get involved in the military effort.

US President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the White House, declaring that the Iranian nuclear sites had been “completely and fully obliterated.”

The surprise strikes come amid a broader nine-day conflict between Iran and Israel and represent a significant expansion of the crisis into a potential regional war.

It remains unclear whether the United States plans further military operations in coordination with Israel, but Trump warned Tehran that any retaliation would be met with overwhelming force. “There will either be peace, or there will be tragedy for Iran,” Trump stated.

Amid the efforts at a negotiated settlement over Tehran’s nuclear program, the Kremlin has consistently voiced strong opposition to any notion of regime change in Iran.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov recently called such discussions “unacceptable” and warned that the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would “open the Pandora’s box,” leading to extremism within the country

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