Vladimir Putin did not claim Russia will support Iran if the U.S. attacks

By: Iryna Hnatiuk
April 15 2024

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Context

Users on social networks have spread the claim that "Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that Russia will support Iran if the United States attacks Iran's soil in support of Israel." Archived here, here, and here, these posts include this text and a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian leader Ebrahim Raisi shaking hands. 

However, neither Putin nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has made such a statement.

In fact

On the night of April 14, Iran attacked Israeli territory with 300 unmanned drones and missiles. According to Israeli military officials, Israel and its allies intercepted all but a few of them. Several countries immediately expressed their stance on the event, including Russia, which said on Sunday it was highly concerned by the Iranian strikes on Israel and called on all parties to exercise restraint.

"We express our extreme concern over another dangerous escalation in the region," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the Iranian attacks. "We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint."

Russian Foreign Ministry statement, in which it called on all parties involved to exercise restraint. (Source: Russian MFA, screenshot)

Russia noted that Tehran had said the attack was an act of self-defense after Israel's strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, which Moscow condemned. Russia did not condemn the Iranian strikes on Israel. 

However, Russia and Putin did not personally announce they would support Iran in case the situation escalates and the United States attacks Iran. The official websites of the Russian President and the Ministry of Defence do not include any such statements.

One of the most prominent Russian media outlets, RBC Russia, published material about the Iranian attack with a comment from the Russian FA Ministry, emphasizing the country’s calls for restraint. The publication didn’t report on the likelihood of Russia supporting Iran.

The article by RBC Russia, which refers to the Russian MFA statement and does not mention Russia’s intention to support Iran. (Source: RBC.ru, screenshot)

The verdict

Official Russian channels have not made any statements about supporting Iran in the event of a U.S. attack, and Putin personally has not made such statements. Consequently, we have marked the claim as false.