Tehran voiced support for Moscow after a short-lived insurrection by the Wagner group posed a mild challenge to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a close partner of Iran in the push for a new world order and strategic alignment against the US.
Iranian President’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Political Affairs Mohammad Jamshidi wrote on Twitter on Monday that President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart and discussed the aborted mutiny by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters.
Jamshidi added that President Rayeesi expressed Tehran’s support for Russia’s national sovereignty following the rebellion by the Wagner group.
Putin briefed Rayeesi on the recent developments in his country and emphasized that the events failed to challenge Russia’s national sovereignty, he continued.
The Wagner group launched its mutiny late on Friday. Prigozhin announced a “march of justice” to Moscow after accusing the Russian military of striking one of the group’s field camps. The Russian Defense Ministry rejected his claim as a “provocation”.
On Saturday, Wagner forces seized control of a military HQ in the Southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and began moving towards Moscow.
In an address to the nation on Saturday morning, President Putin labeled Wagner’s actions as treason and the “backstabbing of our country and our people”.
Later in the day, Prigozhin agreed to end the uprising and withdrew his forces in exchange for “security guarantees”, as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Wagner chief cited the desire to avoid bloodshed as the reason behind the decision.
