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Putin Ally Holds Talks in Iran as Middle East Teeters on Brink of Wider War

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
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Putin Ally Holds Talks in Iran as Middle East Teeters on Brink of Wider War

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 21, 2023. (AFP)

A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian leaders including the president and top security officials as Iran weighs its response to the killing of a Hamas leader.

Russia has condemned the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, in Iran last week and called on all parties to refrain from steps that could tip the Middle East into a wider regional war.

Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's security council, was shown by Russia's Zvezda television station meeting Rear Admiral Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who serves as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

Shoigu, who was Russia's defense minister before being moved to the security council in May, will also meet President Masoud Pezeshkian, Zvezda said.

"In Tehran, the secretary of the Russian Security Council is scheduled to meet with the president, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and the head of the General Staff," according to Zvezda TV.

Though Putin has yet to comment in public on the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, senior Russian officials have said that those behind the killing of Haniyeh were seeking to scuttle any hope of peace in the Middle East and to draw the United States into military action.

Iran has blamed Israel and said it will "punish" it; Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility. Iran backs Hamas, which is at war with Israel in Gaza, and also the Lebanese group Hezbollah whose senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut last week.

Russia has cultivated closer ties with Iran since the start of its war with Ukraine and has said it is preparing to sign a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with Tehran.

Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. The United States said in June that Russia appeared to be deepening its defense cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it was using to strike Ukraine, something Moscow denies.

Russia said last Friday that it joined Iran in condemning the assassination of the Hamas leader and pointing out "the extremely dangerous consequences of such actions". 

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Ukraine Says Russia Hit Vessel Carrying Ukrainian Grain to Egypt in Black Sea

A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
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Ukraine Says Russia Hit Vessel Carrying Ukrainian Grain to Egypt in Black Sea

A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
A view shows a damaged civilian cargo vessel, carrying wheat grain to Egypt, which was hit by a Russian missile strike after it left Ukrainian maritime border in the Black Sea, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, September 12, 2024. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine accused Russia on Thursday of using strategic bombers to hit a civilian grain vessel with a missile in the Black Sea in NATO member Romania's maritime economic zone, in what it described as a "brazen attack" on freedom of navigation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the vessel carrying Ukrainian grain to Egypt had been hit by a Russian missile just after it exited Ukrainian territorial waters, and that there were no casualties according to a preliminary assessment.

If confirmed, the incident would mark a sharp increase in tensions between Moscow and the NATO military alliance, which has tried to tack a course between fears of escalation and supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia since Moscow's invasion in February 2022, according to Reuters.

British maritime security company Ambrey said in a note that a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged bulk carrier had been struck by a Russian-launched missile after departing from the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk in Ukraine's Odesa region.

The vessel sustained damage to its port side, including a cargo hold and a crane, it said.

Traders said the incident had contributed to stronger wheat prices by adding to concern over tightening supply in the Black Sea export zone. US futures rose as much as 2% to hit a two-month peak.

Zelenskiy posted images showing the twisted metal of a damaged crane and other damage.

An industry source told Reuters the strike had taken place overnight not far from the mouth of the Danube river. Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for Ukraine's navy, told Reuters, the vessel was in Romania's maritime economic zone.

Romania's Naval Authority said the vessel had not been in its territorial waters and that its assistance had not been requested in any way.

Zelenskiy wrote on X: "We are waiting for the world to react. Wheat and food security should never be targets for missiles."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the strike "a brazen attack on freedom of navigation and global food security."

Ukraine is a major global grain exporter that has had to battle Russia in the Black Sea to revive its exports through its sea ports since Russia's invasion imposed a de facto blockade.