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Iranian foreign minister meets with Putin in Russia

Abbas Araghchi’s visit marks the final stop of his regional tour as talks with the US have stalled

Published 27 Apr, 2026 11:30 | Updated 27 Apr, 2026 14:52

Iranian foreign minister meets with Putin in Russia

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid stalled diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg early Monday as part of his regional tour to coordinate with allies amid the standoff with Washington and West Jerusalem.

He met with Putin and senior officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the head of Russia’s military intelligence, Admiral Igor Kostyukov.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “the importance of this conversation is difficult to overestimate in terms of how the situation around Iran and in the Middle East is developing.”

Trump cancels envoys’ trip to Pakistan for Iran talks

Direct US-Iran negotiations have stalled after US President Donald Trump called off a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad over the weekend, saying the Iranians “can call” if they want to talk.

Tehran has insisted that direct talks with the US are pointless as long as Washington maintains a naval blockade of Iranian ports and Israeli attacks against Lebanon continue.

Russia has positioned itself as a key diplomatic partner of Iran throughout the conflict. Araghchi’s meeting with Putin is expected to focus on the latest ceasefire developments and forming a joint approach to the crisis.

27 April 2026
15:34 GMT
Washington will not disclose details on “sensitive diplomatic discussions” regarding the conflict in the Middle East, assistant White House Press Secretary Olivia Wales told CBS News. She was responding to Tehran’s claims that it had offered a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US dropping its naval blockade.
She stated that the White House will “not negotiate through the press,” adding that the US “holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
14:54 GMT
Talks between President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi have concluded, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. He added that the meeting was “useful.”
14:14 GMT
The US has asked Iran for negotiations and Tehran is currently analyzing this proposal, Araghchi told journalists following his meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg.
The foreign minister stated that Iran has been able to stand up to the world’s greatest superpower and that Washington has been unable to achieve any of its goals, suggesting this is the reason the US is now asking to hold talks.
13:58 GMT
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has ruled out lifting sanctions on Iran despite the deepening economic crisis stemming from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Previously, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proposed lifting the measures in exchange for reopening the waterway.
However, von der Leyen has slapped down the idea, stating that “the dropping of sanctions would be too early,” claiming that there must be a “fundamental change in Iran,” and accusing Iran of “suppression of human rights.”
13:38 GMT
Putin confirmed that Russia intends to continue its strategic relations with Tehran and asked Araghchi to convey his “most sincere words of gratitude” to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and wished him good health and success.
13:31 GMT
Araghchi has thanked Putin for Russia’s continued support for Iran, adding that relations between the two countries represent a strategic partnership and will continue to strengthen.
The Iranian people have “proven to the entire world” that they are able to resist US aggression and attacks through their resilience and courage and will continue to endure, Araghchi said.
13:19 GMT
The Iranian people are courageously and heroically fighting for their sovereignty, Putin said during the meeting. He expressed hope that Iran will be able to overcome this testing period and that peace will soon be established.
The Russian leader added that Moscow will do everything in the interests of Iran and other countries in the region to bring peace to the Middle East as quickly as possible.
13:18 GMT
Russia’s position is that hostilities in the Middle East should be ceased and that all sides should engage in negotiations on reaching mutual agreements, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists ahead of the meeting between Putin and Araghchi.
13:07 GMT
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has begun.
The Russian leader opened the talks by welcoming the diplomat and stating that he had received a personal message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week.
Also at the meeting are Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, chief of Russian military intelligence Admiral Igor Kostyukov, and Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov.
Araghchi is accompanied by the deputy head of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Kazem Gharibabadi and Tehran’s envoy to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg. © RT
12:58 GMT
Hezbollah plans to return to suicide operations in occupied Lebanese territories, an unnamed leader of the militant group has told Al Jazeera, adding that “large groups of suicide bombers” have already been deployed and will be used to prevent Israel from establishing a foothold.
“The mission of the suicide bombers is to engage with enemy officers and soldiers in the occupied Lebanese villages,” the militant said.

27 April 2026
10:48 GMT
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was seen getting off his plane at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport and was greeted by a Russian delegation on Monday morning.
11:16 GMT
Iran is capable of fully meeting its trade needs despite international economic restrictions, the head of the Joint Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, Yahya al-Ishaq, has said.
”Our geographical location and connections with 15 neighboring countries, as well as the development of our water and land borders, allow us to meet our needs through a combination of sea and land routes,” he was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.
Al-Ishaq noted that the economic restrictions imposed by the US and Europe will likely not last more than 45 days given that the measures also negatively impact their own economies.
11:58 GMT
Iran has banned the export of steel slabs and sheets until the end of May, Reuters reports, citing Iranian state media. No further details were provided on the move, which comes after US-Israeli strikes on Iran’s steel industry.
12:09 GMT
The US has not demonstrated what sort of exit strategy it is pursuing for the Iran war, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said, adding that Washington is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership.
“The Iranians are clearly stronger than expected and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either,” Merz told students during a school visit in Marsberg, Deutsche Welle reports.
“At the moment, I do not see what strategic exit the Americans will choose, especially since the Iranians are clearly negotiating very skillfully,” he said.
12:21 GMT
At least seven ships, primarily dry bulk vessels, have crossed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours amid the fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, Reuters has reported citing ship tracking data.
The outlet noted that prior to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, traffic through the waterway saw an average of 140 daily passages.
12:44 GMT
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the chief of Russian military intelligence, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, are expected to take part in the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Vladimir Putin.
The talks are set to be held in the presidential library in St. Petersburg in the coming hours.
12:58 GMT
Hezbollah plans to return to suicide operations in occupied Lebanese territories, an unnamed leader of the militant group has told Al Jazeera, adding that “large groups of suicide bombers” have already been deployed and will be used to prevent Israel from establishing a foothold.
“The mission of the suicide bombers is to engage with enemy officers and soldiers in the occupied Lebanese villages,” the militant said.
13:07 GMT
The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has begun.
The Russian leader opened the talks by welcoming the diplomat and stating that he had received a personal message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week.
Also at the meeting are Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, chief of Russian military intelligence Admiral Igor Kostyukov, and Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov.
Araghchi is accompanied by the deputy head of Iran’s Foreign Ministry Kazem Gharibabadi and Tehran’s envoy to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg. © RT
13:18 GMT
Russia’s position is that hostilities in the Middle East should be ceased and that all sides should engage in negotiations on reaching mutual agreements, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists ahead of the meeting between Putin and Araghchi.
13:19 GMT
The Iranian people are courageously and heroically fighting for their sovereignty, Putin said during the meeting. He expressed hope that Iran will be able to overcome this testing period and that peace will soon be established.
The Russian leader added that Moscow will do everything in the interests of Iran and other countries in the region to bring peace to the Middle East as quickly as possible.