White House Says President Putin's Visit To Iran Shows How Isolated Russia Is

JAKARTA - The United States considers President Vladimir Putin's visit to Iran to show how isolated Russia is, as the country's leader made his first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

President Putin met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi, while visiting Iran yesterday. The trip, which began just days after US President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia, sends a strong message to the West about Moscow's plans to forge closer strategic ties with Iran, China and India in the face of Western sanctions.

However, White House Chief National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Iran this week showed how Russia had become isolated after its invasion of Ukraine.

Kirby also said there was no indication that Iran had provided the drones to Russia, after last week Washington said it had information indicating Iran would provide Russia with hundreds of drones, including training on their use.

For Iran, which is also irritated by Western economic sanctions and at odds with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program and other issues, Putin's visit is timely.

Iran's clerical leaders want to strengthen strategic ties with Russia against the US-backed Gulf Arab-Israel bloc that could shift the Middle East's balance of power further away from Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself called for long-term cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, while remaining wary of 'Western scams'.

While in Tehran, President Putin also held his first face-to-face meeting since the invasion with NATO leader Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to discuss a deal that would resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports as well as the conflict in northern Syria.