“The whole world is closely following what is happening and is amazed at the courage and heroism of the Iranian nation and its resilience,” Putin said Thursday during the plenary session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow.
Putin also highlighted a deep bench of experienced figures within Iran’s administration, Armed Forces and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), including “people ready for self-sacrifice in the name of their people.”
The Russian president’s remarks came months after the United States and the Israeli regime launched a war of aggression against Iran, killing senior political and military figures while Tehran was engaged in indirect negotiations with Washington.
Putin specifically described the assassination of Ali Larijani, former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as a “tremendous mistake,” arguing that his death removed a figure capable of pursuing diplomatic compromises.
“Mr. Larijani — I knew him personally well — was a very positively minded person, ready to seek mutually acceptable compromises, above all in the interests of the Iranian people,” Putin said, according to TASS and RIA Novosti.
“Besides any legal assessments, this is of course a mistake, because such a person would be needed today to find compromises and solutions that could bring peace to the Persian Gulf,” he added.
Putin recalled that Larijani had traveled to Russia for discussions over Iran’s enriched uranium and said Moscow regarded him as a figure with whom constructive dialogue remained possible.
The Russian president said Tehran had previously agreed to a Russian proposal to relocate its enriched uranium, an arrangement that he said Washington and even the Israeli regime initially accepted.
Moscow had carried out a similar transfer in 2015, Putin said, and remained prepared to repeat the arrangement.
According to Putin, however, the US later hardened its position by demanding that the material be transferred only to American custody, prompting Iran to adopt a tougher stance.
Larijani subsequently proposed establishing a joint Russian-Iranian enterprise inside Iran to dilute the material, Putin said, adding that Moscow’s proposal remains available.
Turning to regional tensions, Putin expressed hope that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and illegal sanctions against Iran would be lifted, an objective he said Tehran was “rightfully pursuing.”
Putin said that once those restrictions were lifted, there would be no justification for restrictions on maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz or Bab el-Mandeb.
“We support that,” he said.
The remarks also underscored the deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Tehran amid sweeping US sanctions and Western pressure on Iran.
Russia and Iran signed a 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement last year, while Moscow continues work on additional units at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant.
Russian officials have repeatedly condemned the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran and offered to assist efforts toward a settlement based on respect for Iran’s sovereignty.