Araghchi to Lavrov: Iran Determined to Defend its National Interests

By Staff, Agencies 

Iran's foreign minister told his Russian counterpart on Friday that Tehran is determined to defend its national interests and prevent the United States from using the Strait of Hormuz to threaten its security.

During talks on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Abbas Araghchi and Russia's Sergei Lavrov discussed bilateral cooperation across political, economic, trade, transport and energy fields, as well as coordination within international organizations and multilateral frameworks including the SCO and BRICS.

They agreed to follow up on facilitating the implementation of understandings reached between the two countries.

On the situation in West Asia, Araghchi thanked Russia for its "principled positions" in condemning US and “Israeli” military aggression against Iran. 

He said the current insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz was a direct consequence of US "bad faith and crimes," and stressed that while Iran had shown seriousness in the diplomacy that led to the ceasefire agreement, it was equally determined to defend its national security and prevent the US from using the strait to threaten it.

Lavrov, for his part, reiterated Russia's position in condemning the US and “Israeli” military aggression against Iran and emphasized the importance of cooperation and confidence-building to create a security mechanism based on regional countries. 

He voiced Russia's readiness to offer any assistance in that regard.