Kremlin Denies Report on Iranian General Moscow Visit
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Kremlin has denied a US media report claiming that Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Major General Qassem Soleimani met with Russian President Valdimir Putin last month in Moscow, media reports said.
A spokesman for the Russian president on Friday rejected the claims by US television channel Fox News that the Iranian commander travelled to Moscow last month and met with Valdimir Putin, RIA Novosti reported.
Fox News published a report on August 6 claiming that the Iranian commander recently visited Moscow to meet with senior Russian leaders, quoting two Western intelligence sources as saying.
“Soleimani had arrived in Moscow on July 24 and met President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu before departing three days later,” Fox News reported on Thursday.
However, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Friday at the daily press briefing that the US can’t confirm such reports.
“I can't confirm these specific reports but it is an indication of our ongoing concerns with Iran and their behavior,” Fox News reported.
Mike Rogers, former chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, showed reaction later on Friday and said, "A leading general in Iran just told the world that the United States of America is irrelevant and Russia welcomed him with open arms. Not only do Russia and Iran not fear us, they do not respect us. And that, is dangerous."
