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Lavrov in Tehran today for talks with Pezeshkian and Araghchi
Russia's foreign minister arrives on a working visit as the Hormuz standoff deepens. Moscow says the talks will focus on the situation around Iran and on Russian steps to cool tensions, alongside trade and energy projects.
Key points
- Sergey Lavrov will be received by President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday.
- Moscow says the agenda centres on the situation around Iran and de-escalation.
- Trade, investment and joint transport and energy projects are also on the list.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov travels to Tehran on Monday for talks with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian, as Moscow tries to position itself as a broker in the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.
“On October 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to Tehran,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the two sides would discuss “current international and regional problems with a focus on the situation around Iran,” including steps Russia is taking to de-escalate tensions in the region.
In a statement on Sunday, the ministry added that “due attention will be paid to key aspects of trade, economic and investment cooperation,” and to the implementation of big joint projects in transport, logistics and energy. It did not name them.
The visit comes at a tense moment. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say two tankers struck mines in the strait over the weekend, and attacks on shipping in and around Hormuz have hit their highest levels of the war. Araghchi, speaking in Baghdad on Sunday, said Iran’s seven-day proposal to reopen the waterway was still open if Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions.
Araghchi last met President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg in April. Lavrov’s trip also comes as Washington pushes proposals to end the war in Ukraine, including a possible summit with President Putin.