Iran's Foreign Minister Arrives in St. Petersburg to Meet With Putin—Aboard a Plane Named in Memory of the Children Killed by a US Strike

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in St Petersburg for meetings with Vladimir Putin and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

Araghchi said that contacts between Russia and Iran had recently been limited because of the war, so Tehran decided to use his trips to Oman and Pakistan to arrange a visit to Russia as well.

“This meeting will give us an opportunity to consult with our Russian friends on developments related to the war period, on the current situation, and to review recent events,” he told journalists.

According to IRNA, Araghchi flew to Russia on flight “Minab 168”, named in memory of the children killed in a girls’ school in Minab as a result of a US strike.

Before that, Iran’s foreign minister visited Muscat, the capital of Oman, where he discussed the situation around the Strait of Hormuz with Omani officials.

Over the weekend, he also travelled twice to Islamabad. On Friday, Araghchi arrived there for the second round of talks between Tehran and Washington, but Donald Trump cancelled the meeting, saying the Iranian side had not provided a clear answer on its readiness for negotiations.

It had initially been expected that Araghchi would travel directly to Russia after Oman, but following the cancellation of the talks, the Iranian foreign minister made another stop in Islamabad.

Details of this trip have not been officially disclosed. Iranian agencies, however, report that in Islamabad Araghchi conveyed a new proposal to the United States via Pakistani intermediaries. According to Axios, it amounts to ending the war now—or at least stabilising the crisis around the strait—while postponing discussions on a nuclear deal to a later stage.

Axios also reports that Araghchi indicated to Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish, and Qatari mediators that there is no unified position within Iran’s leadership on how to respond to US demands. Washington insists that Iran suspend uranium enrichment for at least ten years and eliminate its existing stockpile of enriched uranium.