Putin pledges support for Iran in talks with Araghchi in Russia, says he wants peace

(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg on Monday and told him he hoped the Iranian people would weather what he described as a “difficult period” and that peace would soon prevail. Russia has offered to mediate to try to help restore calm to the Middle East following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which Moscow has condemned. It has also repeatedly offered to store Iran’s enriched uranium as a way of defusing tensions, an offer the United States has not taken up. – Putin pledges support for Iran in talks with Araghchi in Russia, says he wants peace