Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, his first visit to Iran since the war began.
Mr Lavrov landed in the Iranian capital on Monday afternoon, according to Al Jazeera. It was his first trip to Iran since February 2025.
He travelled from Manama, Bahrain, where on Sunday he took part in a strategic dialogue between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Mr Lavrov and Mr Araghchi held a joint news conference, according to CBS News.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Mr Lavrov was due to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. No date or time for that meeting has been given.
Mr Lavrov said Moscow's efforts were "aimed at preventing the return of a large-scale war", according to CBS News, which based its account on a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced the visit on Friday, according to Tehran Times, which is aligned with the Iranian state. She said the talks would cover international and regional issues.
Ms Zakharova said they would also address the implementation of agreements reached in recent high-level contacts, and of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Iran. Moscow said the talks would also cover trade, energy and transport projects, according to RFE/RL.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei confirmed the visit. He said its purpose was to follow up on bilateral agreements, according to RFE/RL and Kurdistan24.
Moscow has said the regional crisis stems from the actions of the United States and Israel. Ms Zakharova set out that position, according to Tehran Times and RFE/RL.
In Manama, GCC members urged Mr Lavrov to use Moscow's influence to press Iran towards "serious dialogue", according to Al Jazeera and RFE/RL. They also asked him to help restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump wrote on social media earlier in the week that he did not believe Moscow or Beijing were helping Iran "at all", according to RFE/RL. The report did not give the full text of the post.
Whether Russia is helping Iran in the war is a matter of dispute. No response from the White House to the Russian position, or from the Kremlin to Mr Trump's remarks, had been reported.
Al Jazeera and CBS News both describe Russia as trying to position itself as a mediator. Al Jazeera attributed that view to analyst Nikita Smagin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Mr Pezeshkian earlier this month that Moscow was ready to contribute to mediation, according to RFE/RL and Kurdistan24.
Iran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Mr Pezeshkian and Mr Putin met last week in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It was their third meeting within a month, according to Kurdistan24.
The war began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran, according to CBS News. Iran heavily targeted Bahrain and other Gulf states during the conflict, according to Al Jazeera.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by attacks on commercial vessels. Tehran Times, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, reported that a second supertanker had struck a sea mine there.
Talks between the United States and Iran are at a standstill, according to CBS News and Kurdistan24.
For Iran, Russia is a key partner and a possible go-between with Washington and the Gulf states. The outcome of Mr Lavrov's talks in Tehran, and of the stalled US-Iran negotiations, is not yet known.
Photo: Eduard Pesov / Эдуард Песов / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
