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Lavrov Discusses ‘Regional Security’, ‘Nuclear Deal’ in Tehran

A photo distributed by the Iranian presidency of a major reception for Lavrov in Tehran on Wednesday
A photo distributed by the Iranian presidency of a major reception for Lavrov in Tehran on Wednesday
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Lavrov Discusses ‘Regional Security’, ‘Nuclear Deal’ in Tehran

A photo distributed by the Iranian presidency of a major reception for Lavrov in Tehran on Wednesday
A photo distributed by the Iranian presidency of a major reception for Lavrov in Tehran on Wednesday

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, at the start of a two-day visit, during which he will discuss the war in Ukraine, regional security and the Iranian nuclear talks.

In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said that discussions with Iranian officials would focus on the nuclear agreement and the war in Ukraine, Syria and Yemen.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Lavrov’s visit on June 13, but Moscow did not confirm the news until the eve of his trip.

“Tomorrow, Lavrov will visit Iran,” the permanent Russian representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, said on Twitter.

The Russian foreign minister is scheduled to hold detailed consultations with Abdollahian on Thursday.

On his agenda are issues pertaining to the signing of a long-term bilateral cooperation agreement and work to expand economic contacts amid the increasing Western sanctions, as well as the developments in the Ukrainian war.

Lavrov’s consultations with his Iranian counterpart fall in the context of the nuclear talks in Vienna between Iran and the great powers (Russia, the United States, China, France, Britain and Germany).

Intermittent 11-month talks to revive the agreement were suspended in Vienna last March after Russia requested US guarantees that its trade with Iran would not be affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis. Moscow later said it had received written guarantees that it would be able to assume its role as party to the agreement, which suggests that Moscow may allow the revival of the talks.

The Iranian circles in favor of the nuclear agreement criticize Russia for “obstructing” the nuclear talks, but the negotiations became more complicated after Tehran stipulated that the Revolutionary Guards be removed from the list of terrorist organizations.

This is the first meeting that brings together Abdollahian with one of his counterparts from the signatory countries to the nuclear agreement, after the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency condemned Tehran’s failure to respond to the IAEA’s questions regarding the presence of traces of enriched uranium in undeclared sites.

Russia, along with its ally China, voted against the resolution put forward by the United States, France, Britain and Germany.

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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
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‘Bomb Cyclone' Knocks Out Power to Over 600,000 Across Northwest US, Killing 1

A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
A low pressure storm system known as a "bomb cyclone" forms off the coast of the US Pacific Northwest and western Canada in a composite satellite image November 19, 2024. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS

A major storm swept across the northwest US Tuesday evening, battering the region with strong winds and rain and causing widespread power outages and downed trees that killed at least one person, The Associated Press reported.

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks through Friday and hurricane-force wind warnings were in effect as the strongest atmospheric river — a large plume of moisture — that California and the Pacific Northwest has seen this season overwhelms the region. The storm system is considered a “bomb cyclone,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

Downed trees struck homes and littered roads across northwest Washington. In Lynnwood, Washington, a woman died Tuesday night when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, South County Fire said in a statement on X. In Seattle, a tree fell onto a vehicle, temporarily trapping a person inside, the Seattle Fire Department reported. The agency later said the individual was in stable condition.
“Trees are coming down all over the city & falling onto homes,” the fire department in Bellevue, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of Seattle, posted on the social platform X. "If you can, go to the lowest floor and stay away from windows. Do not go outside if you can avoid it."
Early Wednesday, over 600,000 houses in Washington State were reported to be without power on poweroutage.us. But the number of outage reports fluctuated wildly throughout the evening likely due in part to several weather and utility agencies struggling to report information on the storm because of internet outages and other technical problems. It wasn’t clear if that figure was accurate. More than 15,000 had lost power in Oregon and nearly 19,000 in California.
As of 8 p.m., the peak wind speed was in Canadian waters, where gusts of 101 mph (163 kph) were reported off the coast of Vancouver Island, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Along the Oregon coast, there were wind gusts as high at 79 mph (127 kph) Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, while wind speed of 77 mph (124 kph) was recorded at Mount Rainier in Washington.
Winds were expected to increase in western Washington throughout the evening, the weather service said.
The national Weather Service warned people on the West Coast about the danger of trees during high winds, posting on X, “Stay safe by avoiding exterior rooms and windows and by using caution when driving.”
In northern California, flood and high wind watches were in effect, with up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain predicted for parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, North Coast and Sacramento Valley. Dangerous flash flooding, rock slides and debris flows were expected, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.
A winter storm watch was issued for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), where 15 inches (28 centimeters) of snow was possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (120 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of southwestern Oregon through Friday evening, while rough winds and seas halted a ferry route in northwestern Washington between Port Townsend and Coupeville.
A blizzard warning was issued for the majority of the Cascades in Washington, including Mount Rainier National Park, starting Tuesday afternoon, with up to a foot of snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph), according to the weather service in Seattle. Travel across passes could be difficult if not impossible.