MOSCOW: Russia’s national Security Council secretary on Monday arrived for a visit to Tehran, news agencies reported, amid fears of a wider war in the region following last week’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s ex-defense minister, was set to meet senior military and security officials as well as new President Masoud Pezeshkian to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation in a wide range of spheres including security, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported.
The visit was on the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Iran’s local Tasnim news agency reported.
It said the visit had the aim of “strengthening interactions, the examination of regional and international issues, and bilateral political security relations.”
Russia has “strongly condemned” the killing of Haniyeh, the political leader of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas, in Tehran last month.
Pezeshkian has described Russia as a “valued strategic ally.”
Shoigu was removed as defense minister in May in a major shake-up of Russia’s military leadership, becoming secretary of the Security Council instead.
The visit to one of Russia’s key political allies underlines Shoigu’s continued significant role.
As defense minister, he visited Iran in September last year, while his predecessor at the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, a longstanding ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited in late 2022.
Senior Russian official in Tehran to deepen security ties
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Senior Russian official in Tehran to deepen security ties
- Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s ex-defense minister, set to meet senior military and security officials
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces
- There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led SDF
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier on Saturday, a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish fighters had ended with no clear sign of whether it would be renewed, as the main Kurdish-led force in the country called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
Syria’s state news agency SANA had quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the truce had ended and the government was “studying its options.”
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq. On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
