Iranian President Meets Putin in Moscow: ‘We Can Resolve Problems Without the US’

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held his latest meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit in Moscow. Pezeshkian told Putin that regional problems could be resolved without the United States (US).

“I believe we can resolve our problems in this region without relying on the United States,” Pezeshkian said at the meeting, AFP reported on Wednesday (28 October 2026).

“Our trade continues to develop and grow day by day. US actions in the region are actually making it easier for us to move towards broader multilateralism and strengthen cooperation with you and other countries also affected by unilateral US sanctions,” he said.

At the meeting on Tuesday (27 October), local time, Putin said he had discussed the war between Iran and the US with Pezeshkian and expressed hope that the situation would improve.

“We spoke privately earlier about the situation in the region—a situation that is undoubtedly a cause for concern,” he said, adding that he hoped it would “develop in a positive direction”.

Pezeshkian said he was confident that both countries wanted to expand cooperation in science, industry, culture, security and the military.

Moscow is seeking to act as a mediator to help end the Middle East war, which has raged since 28 February following joint US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iran for the first time since the war began. Lavrov said Russia’s efforts were “intended to prevent a return to full-scale war” amid a deadlock in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Russia and Iran had “never” worked as closely together as they do now.

Negotiations between Iran and the US have been stalled for months, while Washington and Tel Aviv continue to exchange threats to attack Tehran again.