Phone Call with Putin: Iranian President Urges Russia to Use Its Influence to Restrain the United States and Israel

The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid rising tensions in the Middle East. In the conversation, Pezeshkian specifically asked Moscow to use its international influence to defend Iran’s legitimate rights on the international stage in response to the attacks launched by the United States and Israel. “Iran hopes that Russia will use its clout in the international arena to support the legitimate rights of the Iranian people amid the ongoing attacks by the United States and Israel,” Pezeshkian said, according to a release from the Iranian presidency’s press service on Saturday (7 March). In addition to discussing tensions with the United States and Israel, Pezeshkian used the opportunity to refute claims that Tehran had attacked Azerbaijan. In line with the president’s statement, Iran’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, affirmed Tehran’s position at the UN headquarters. He said Iran will not stop resisting while the aggression described as barbarous persists. “We continue to exercise our inherent right to self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter until this aggression and barbarous attack cease. Our response is lawful, necessary, and proportionate,” Iravani told reporters. Iravani stressed that Tehran’s military operation is defensive and targets only military objectives in direct response to aggression against Iran’s sovereignty. The security situation in the region has deteriorated sharply following a joint US-Israeli strike last Saturday (28 February). The attack, which targeted several critical points including the capital Tehran, caused infrastructure damage, civilian casualties, and the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In response to the incident, Iran launched a series of retaliatory strikes against Israeli territory and several US military bases spread across the Middle East. Tehran described the measures as a strictly necessary act of self-defence to safeguard its sovereignty. (Ant/Sputnik/RIA Novosti-OANA/P-4)