Putin, Raisi Hold Second Phone Call in 9 Days

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the second call between the two leaders in nine days, the Kremlin announced in a statement. The Kremlin said in a readout of the call that they discussed the situation in Syria and cooperation between Iran and Russia on transport and energy. Both Putin and Raisi back President Bashar Assad in Syria’s long-running civil war.

The statement did not refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine, though the two countries have grown even closer since the start of the hostilities. Iran has denied providing its attack drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine, but Iraninan foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in November that the Islamic Republic had sold drones to Moscow “months before: the invasion.