Iran thanks Russia for supporting it during US, Israeli June attacks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that Tehran is grateful to Moscow for its support during attacks carried out by the United States and Israel.

Araghchi made the remarks during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

“We would like to thank Russia for its support at a time when the United States and the Zionist regime attacked Iran,” Araghchi said.

He noted that Russian-Iranian relations are comprehensive and wide-ranging, adding that the signing of a strategic partnership agreement has given additional momentum to the development of cooperation between the two countries.

This reflects Russia's public condemnation of the attacks, including statements from President Vladimir Putin labelling them "unprovoked aggression" and pledging solidarity with Iran, though Moscow stopped short of military involvement.

The strikes in question stemmed from the brief but intense Iran-Israel war, often called the "Twelve-Day War," which ran from June 13 to June 24, 2025. It began with surprise Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites, military bases, air defences, and leadership targets, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons—a charge Tehran consistently denied, insisting its program was peaceful. Escalation led to Iranian missile retaliations against Israel, causing casualties on both sides.

On the night of June 21-22, the United States directly intervened under Operation Midnight Hammer, with B-2 stealth bombers dropping massive bunker-buster bombs (GBU-57 MOPs) on the heavily fortified Fordow underground enrichment plant (the primary target, receiving multiple hits), Natanz enrichment facility, and Isfahan nuclear technology centre, supplemented by submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles. President Donald Trump announced the operation as a "very successful" effort to "obliterate" Iran's key nuclear infrastructure, claiming significant setbacks to the program. However, Iran reported that it evacuated essential materials beforehand.

By Khagan Isayev