Lavrov in Tehran calls for return to pre-war situation in the Strait of Hormuz and says Russian specialists are returning to Bushehr

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks in Tehran on Monday 19 October with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and later met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Al Jazeera and RFE/RL reported. It was his first visit to Iran since February 2025, according to Al Jazeera, and the final stop of a regional tour that began in Bahrain.

At a joint news conference, Mr Lavrov said it was important to return to “the pre-crisis situation” in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, including restored freedom of navigation and guarantees that the “aggression” would not be repeated, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s transcript (our translation). He repeated Russia’s readiness to help find negotiated solutions to what he called “unprovoked American-Israeli aggression” against Iran, said Russian specialists were gradually returning to the Bushehr nuclear power plant, and said Moscow hoped Mr Pezeshkian would attend a gas exporters’ summit in Moscow at the end of October.

Mr Araghchi said “the existing insecurity around the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the military aggression by the US and [Israel] against Iran” and that regional problems had “no military solution”, Al Jazeera reported.

The Russian ministry’s statement on the talks did not mention military or intelligence cooperation, RFE/RL reported. Several US media outlets, citing intelligence reports, have said Russia has given Iran satellite imagery for targeting, Al Jazeera reported. Speaking in Washington on Monday, US President Donald Trump said “Russia’s done very little for Iran”, Anadolu reported.

The US and Israel launched their war on Iran on 28 February. See also: Lavrov’s talks with Gulf states in Bahrain.