Velayati, also acting as a special envoy of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, has travelled to Russia to submit messages from Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and also the Iranian president to the Russian leader.
The Thursday meeting between Putin and Velayati was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Mahdi Sanai.
The meeting came a day after Putin met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia for talks on various issues, particularly Iran and Syria.
Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Moscow on Wednesday, Velayati pointed to Netanyahu’s concurrent visit to Russia, saying, “He is an itinerant person who travels to somewhere in the world every day.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry says Velayati’s trip is part of plans to send special envoys to other countries to convey messages of top Iranian leaders after the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“In these messages, our country’s views and stances regarding the US’ selfish and illegal behavior are explained to other countries,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said Wednesday.
On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).
Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.