Lavrov arrives in Tehran for talks on war and Gulf security
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Tehran on Monday afternoon, October 19, on his first visit to Iran since February 2025. He was scheduled to hold talks later in the day with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Al Jazeera
Moscow said the trip was part of efforts to ease tensions since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28. The Russian Foreign Ministry had announced the October 19 working visit in advance and said Lavrov would meet Araghchi in Tehran.
Lavrov traveled to Iran a day after attending a strategic dialogue session in Bahrain between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council, the bloc of six Arab Gulf states. GCC members urged him to use Moscow's influence with Tehran to press for serious dialogue and to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway at the center of the shipping disruption.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi said GCC member states had faced more than 7,000 Iranian missiles and drones since the start of the war. In its closing statement, the GCC said Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and its support for regional armed groups should be included in future talks to end the war. The Gulf states also urged Russia to use its position on the UN Security Council to press Iran to halt attacks. The National
In Manama, Lavrov told GCC ministers that the region was teetering on the brink of full-scale war and said Russia wanted to establish a regional architecture for collective security. He also stressed the need to grant Gulf states a decisive role in determining regional security arrangements.
Lavrov expressed support for a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Iran and the United States in June, which later collapsed, as a framework for reducing tension. Iran said it wants a return to that June agreement and wants Washington to honour a finalised bilateral deal between Iran and Oman to manage territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States opposed the Iran-Oman deal and established its own route in the waterway for shipping.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Moscow and Beijing would have too much to lose if they helped Iran. Washington has issued sanctions waivers for Russia, measures easing economic restrictions, in a bid to lower fuel prices driven up by the war against Iran. Russia is exploring a role in U.S.-Tehran talks in connection with Lavrov's visit, according to regional reporting. New Arab
Iran's foreign minister said on Sunday that Tehran's conditions to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain in place. Iran said its 7-day plan to reopen the strait is still on the table.
