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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday for Moscow’s support during Iran’s war with the U.S., describing relations between Tehran and Moscow as strategic.
The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, marking their first meeting since the conflict began.
“We appreciate and thank you for your positions at every stage, both during the period when the fighting and acts of aggression were taking place and under normal circumstances, when the United States was imposing sanctions on us, both at the United Nations and in international forums,” Pezeshkian told Putin.
“This shows that our relationship is a strategic relationship; it is not an ordinary relationship,” he added.
An earlier statement from the Iranian presidency said Pezeshkian and Putin reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to strengthen and expand cooperation in various fields.
The two presidents last met at a summit in Turkmenistan in December 2025.
Russia has significantly deepened military and economic ties with Iran since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The war between Iran and the U.S. began Feb. 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military officials.
Iran responded with attacks across the region as the conflict widened.
Tehran later blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a major global energy route, while Washington imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
An April 8 ceasefire ended the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks, mainly near the Strait of Hormuz, have continued and reduced prospects for a final peace agreement.
The U.S. has since shifted toward what it calls an “economic asphyxiation” campaign against Iran.
During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg in late April, Putin said Moscow would do “everything” it could to help secure peace in the Middle East.
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