Iranian press review: Moscow moves to restore Tehran-Damascus ties

Russia steps in to mediate between Iran and Syria

Local media have reported on a series of meetings between senior Iranian and Russian officials, suggesting that Moscow is seeking to restore its influence in Syria and rebuild communication channels between Tehran and Damascus.

Speculation grew after Alexander Lavrentiev, the Russian president’s special envoy to Syria, arrived in Tehran on Monday for meetings with officials from Iran’s foreign ministry and the Supreme National Security Council.

Just a week earlier, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

According to the Sharq daily, Russia is attempting to strengthen its presence in the Middle East by helping to repair ties between Tehran and Damascus, which have been strained since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, who now lives in exile in Russia.

“Russia is trying to strike a diplomatic balance between Iran and Syria in the post-Bashar al-Assad era,” Sharq wrote. “Moscow aims to maintain its bilateral relations and security coordination with Iran, while using its position in Syria to promote regional stability and prevent further escalation.”

On Wednesday, Asr-e Iran reported that Moscow’s mediation efforts focus on two main issues: the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Syria, and the future of their economic ties.

Death row prisoners sew their lips shut in protest

Amid a sharp rise in executions across Iran in recent months, inmates on death row at Qezel Hesar Prison have gone on hunger strike, sewing their lips shut to demand an end to what they call a wave of state killings.

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A video smuggled out of the prison shows one of the inmates describing the harsh conditions faced by those on strike. “We are only asking for a one-degree pardon of our death sentences,” he says. “We want the judicial authorities to listen to us and stop executing us.”

The hunger strike lasted for six days and was briefly suspended on Sunday to give authorities a chance to fulfil their promises after a rare visit by judicial officials who pledged to halt executions. During that time, families of those on death row staged sit-ins outside judicial offices in support of the inmates’ demands.

On 16 October, Amnesty International raised the alarm over the rising number of executions in Iran, calling for an immediate halt.

“Even by Iran’s own bleak record, this is a grim moment that demands a serious and coordinated international response,” said Hussein Baoumi, the organisation’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Human rights groups report that Iranian authorities have executed an average of four people per day since the beginning of the year.

Top nuclear scientist denies Trump’s claim of Fordow destruction

Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri, a leading figure in Iran’s nuclear programme, has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claims that the Fordow nuclear facility was destroyed. His remarks came in his first interview since Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June.

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Aghamiri, who was relocated to a secure site following Israeli air strikes, said: “The enemy claims they destroyed Fordow, but if you visit the site, you’ll see that’s not true. They may have knocked on Fordow’s entrance, but the facility itself remains intact.”

Asked about the broader impact of the attacks, Aghamiri said that while parts of the programme were damaged, the losses were repairable.

He stressed that Iran’s scientists have the technical expertise to rebuild any affected structures, describing the process as just “copying something already made”.

When pressed about potential damage to Iran’s centrifuges, he hinted that newer generations of centrifuges might not have been stored at Fordow at all. “No one knows whether the centrifuges were even kept there,” he said.

Aghamiri also reaffirmed Iran’s mastery of nuclear technology, claiming the country has the knowledge required to produce a nuclear weapon.

“If Iran decides to build an atomic bomb, it can do it in the best way,” he said. “If the country needs it, everything can be done.”

Can Russia be trusted? Analysts voice doubts

As pressure on Iran intensifies, Tehran’s growing ties with Moscow are drawing criticism from some Iranian analysts, who argue that Russia is not a reliable ally and that the strategy has already backfired.

'Past experience shows Moscow has consistently used the confrontation between Tehran and the West as leverage to advance its own interests'

- News outlet Rouydad 24

In a commentary, Abbas Abdi, a prominent political analyst and former political prisoner, warned that Moscow would abandon Tehran the moment its interests dictated. 

“Russia would even hand over Bashar al-Assad if it deemed it necessary,” Abdi said, adding that Moscow’s actions are guided by pragmatism rather than loyalty or prestige.

Meanwhile, some Iranian officials, including former parliamentarian Mansour Haghighatpour, suggested that Moscow might serve as a mediator to restart negotiations between Iran and the United States.

The idea has fuelled a new debate over Russia’s role in shaping Iran’s regional and international future.

The news outlet Rouydad 24 cautioned that such mediation efforts could ultimately harm Iran, asking: “Moscow, middleman or new trap?”

The outlet wrote that “past experience shows Moscow has consistently used the confrontation between Tehran and the West as leverage to advance its own interests.”