Russia ‘helping’ Iran ‘in many different directions’ amid war: Araghchi

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday underscored Tehran’s relationship with Moscow, as reports that Russia is providing the Middle Eastern country with intelligence have surfaced amid the U.S. military campaign in the region.

“A military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new. It’s not a secret. It has been in the past, and it’s still there, and will continue in the future,” Araghchi told NBC News’s Kristen Welker on “Meet The Press,” describing the relationship as “a very good partnership.”

Welker pressed Araghchi, asking the foreign minister, “So they are helping you? They are providing intelligence?”

“Well, they are helping us in many different directions,” Araghchi responded. “I don’t have any detailed information.”

President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have dismissed concerns that Russia is supporting Iran, as its conflict with the U.S. and Israel stretches into its second week.

Hegseth said “no one’s putting us in danger” when asked by CBS News’s Major Garrett about reports that Russia provided information on U.S. bases to Iran.

“We’re putting the other guys in danger, that’s our job, so we’re not concerned about that,” he told the outlet.

On Friday, meanwhile, Trump dismissed a question about reported Russian interference in the conflict during a White House roundtable about college sports.

“What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time,” the president told Fox News’s Peter Doocy. “We’re talking about something else.”

Soon after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran last week, Russian officials condemned the operation, calling for a ceasefire and labeling the military campaign “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state.”

On Sunday, Araghchi dismissed international calls for a ceasefire, characterizing the conflict as “unprovoked, unwarranted.”

“[The U.S. and Israel] have to explain why they started this aggression before we come to the point to even consider a ceasefire,” he told Welker. “Of course, nobody wants to continue this war. This is not our war.”