Lavrov at the UN: Russia has launched a peace initiative for the Persian Gulf — calls the killing of Ayatollah Khamenei “unacceptable”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday at the UN General Assembly that Russia has launched an initiative to establish peace in the Gulf region and resolve the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz, as Al Jazeera reports, while waves of clashes in the Persian Gulf continue to damage shipping and global trade.

In his speech in New York, Lavrov said resolving the crisis requires building trust between the Gulf states, Arab countries and Iran, adding that Russia, together with other countries, is “ready to contribute constructively to the stabilization of this strategically important region of the Middle East.”

The Russian chief diplomat called “unacceptable” the use of force for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and members of his family. Lavrov’s statement is Russia’s strongest official expression so far on this matter of the US–Iran war.

He also condemned the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), saying they dealt “irreparable blows” to the agency’s authority. According to Lavrov, American and Israeli aggression also targeted civilian infrastructure, in addition to nuclear sites.