Lavrov Visits Tehran as Israel–Iran Threats Raise Stakes for Diplomacy
Geographical context: Strait of Hormuz, December 30, 2001; not a record of current operations. Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC. Public-domain image, cropped and boundary-retouched in this Wikimedia Commons version ; no additional alterations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on October 19, adding a diplomatic encounter to a confrontation marked by renewed Israeli, Iranian and U.S. warnings. The visit did not produce a publicly announced new Russian mediation initiative, according to The New Arab’s account of the talks. At their joint press conference, Araghchi advocated diplomacy and a regional security arrangement without foreign forces, Reuters reported. He blamed Washington for tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. That is Iran’s stated position, not an independently established allocation of responsibility for every incident at sea. Diplomacy alongside threats Iran International reported that Do...