Pakistan(National Times)- U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, steps Russia fears could push the entire region into the abyss of a major war. Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in the Kremlin on Monday alongside his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russia\u2019s GRU military intelligence agency. \u201cThe absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification,\u201d Putin told Araqchi, adding that he wanted to speak about ways to calm the crisis. \u201cFor our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people.\u201d Araqchi was due to deliver a letter from Khamenei to Putin, seeking more help from Russia, a senior source told Reuters. There was no confirmation of that from Moscow, though Araqchi passed on best wishes from Iran\u2019s supreme leader and president. At a meeting later with advanced military recruits, Putin noted the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the involvement of powers from outside the region, though he did not mention the United States by name. \u201cExtra-regional powers are also being drawn into the conflict,\u201d Putin said. \u201cAll this brings the world to a very dangerous line.\u201d Iran has not been impressed with Russia\u2019s support so far, Iranian sources told Reuters, and the country wants Putin to do more to back it against Israel and the United States. The sources did not elaborate on what assistance Tehran wanted. Putin, whose army is fighting a major war of attrition in Ukraine, has shown little appetite for a confrontation with the U.S. over Iran just as Trump seeks to repair ties with Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MOSCOW AND TEHRAN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While Moscow has bought weapons from Iran and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year, the published agreement does not contain a mutual defence clause. Russia has also said it does not want Iran to build a nuclear bomb, a step that Moscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East. Inside Russia, there were calls for Russia to come to the aid of its partner and to supply Iran with the same support which Washington had given to Ukraine \u2013 including air defence systems, missiles and satellite intelligence. At the U.N. Security Council on Sunday, Russia, China and Pakistan proposed the 15-member body adopt a resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Middle East after U.S. strikes. Russia\u2019s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia recalled former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell making the case at the U.N. Security Council in 2003 that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein constituted an imminent danger to the world because of the country\u2019s stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. \u201cAgain we\u2019re being asked to believe the U.S.\u2019s fairytales, to once again inflict suffering on millions of people living in the Middle East. This cements our conviction that history has taught our U.S. colleagues nothing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pakistan(National Times)- U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, steps Russia fears could push the entire region into the abyss of a major war. Putin received Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in the Kremlin on Monday alongside his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n