Putin Calls Pezeshkian

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday. In its readout of the call, the Kremlin said Putin expressed condolences over the deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, members of his family, and senior Iranian military officials, and reaffirmed Russia’s call for an “immediate cessation of hostilities,” a rejection of force as a solution, and a swift return to political and diplomatic efforts.

The call came as Moscow faces growing questions about how much it can do for its partners when they come under direct military pressure from the US and its allies. For the Kremlin, the public readout was not only about Iran, but also about signaling that Russia still stands by friendly governments in a crisis. Russia has treated Iran as a key regional partner, especially after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, which further weakened Moscow’s position in the Middle East.

Analyst Paul Goble told Kyiv Post that Putin does not want to look like “a paper tiger” – a leader who promises strategic partnership but proves unable or unwilling to come to the aid of friendly regimes when it matters.

“He’s shown that he can make all the promises he wants about strategic partnerships,” Goble told Kyiv Post. “But if push comes to shove and the strategic partner is opposed by a powerful country like the United States, he’s not willing and probably not able at this point to come to the aid of that country.”

As the conflict approached the one-week mark, US media also reported that Russia had been providing Iran with intelligence, including the locations of US warships and aircraft in the region.

Former US Ambassador Richard Kauzlarich told Kyiv Post he could not say whether intelligence cooperation was discussed during the Putin-Pezeshkian call, but said he was not surprised by reports of Russian assistance to Iran.

“Putin would see providing information to Iran as just a natural reaction,” Kauzlarich told Kyiv Post. “If [the US] can do it to Ukraine, [Russia] can do it to Iran.”

The White House, however, downplayed the importance of the reported Russian aid, arguing that it was not changing the military picture. Karoline Leavitt said US forces had rendered the Iranian navy “combat ineffective” and said retaliatory ballistic missile strikes were down 90% just six days into the campaign.

Trump struck the same tone on March 6. In remarks to reporters, he said Iran’s army, navy, communications, and leadership had been devastated, its air force had been wiped out, and all 32 of its ships were “at the bottom of the ocean.”