The key facts

  • On November 5, Putin met at the Kremlin with Iranian Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei; details have not been disclosed
  • The meeting was attended by presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and GRU head Igor Kostyukov
  • This is Putin's third communication with the Iranian leadership within a week: a telephone conversation on November 2 and a meeting with Pezeshkian at the end of October

Meeting at the Kremlin

On November 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting at the Kremlin with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei. This was reported to journalists by the press secretary of the Russian leader, Dmitry Peskov; the details of the talks and the issues discussed have not yet been disclosed. According to Gazeta.Ru, citing RIA Novosti, the meeting took place in the Representative Office of the head of state in the Senate Palace, and it was attended by presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry, Igor Kostyukov. The editorial board notes the participation of the GRU chief in the Russian delegation as a detail pointing to the format of the meeting with an emphasis on security, although the parties did not disclose an official agenda.

A series of contacts within a week

The meeting became a continuation of intensive high-level exchanges between Moscow and Tehran. On November 2, Putin and Rezaei held a telephone conversation devoted to the situation in the Middle East and other international issues: the interlocutors confirmed their intention to continue the strategic cooperation between the two countries. According to the Iranian Fars news agency, cited by Gazeta.Ru, the conversation took place within the framework of high-level consultations between Iran and the Russian Federation and in continuation of recent meetings of senior officials of the two states. Earlier, on October 27, the Russian president received the head of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, at the Kremlin: at that time, bilateral interaction, joint economic projects and the situation in the Middle East region were discussed. According to Iran's ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, the topics of the talks were to include economic cooperation, energy security, geopolitics and the international North-South transport corridor. Later, Putin said that he had discussed the situation in the Middle East with Pezeshkian 'face to face.'

What is known and what is not yet

The content of the November 5 meeting has not been disclosed by either side as of the time of publication — only the composition of the participants and the venue are known. Sources did not report on the upcoming visit of Rezaei or on any final agreements. Earlier, Putin stated that Russia remains a faithful friend of Iran; this wording is cited by Gazeta.Ru without indicating the date or context of the statement.