DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow defends the diplomatic path as the only way out of the Gulf crisis, highlighting the Iranian plan to reopen the Ormuz Strait in seven days rather than the responsibility that Washington attributes to Tehran.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Lavrov and Araghchi stated that there is no alternative to a diplomatic solution to the Gulf crisis, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
- 02
The Iranian plan transmitted via Qatar provides for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on the sixth day and a resumption of negotiations on the seventh.
- 03
The UN warns that at least 45 million people in developing countries risk food shortages if fertilizer shipments via Hormuz remain disrupted.
ANALYSIS
Moscow, September 26, 2026. Russian diplomacy intervened on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly to support a negotiated outcome to the Strait of Hormuz crisis. According to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi stated that "there is no alternative to a diplomatic solution" to the Gulf crisis, during a meeting dedicated to developments around Iran and the schedule of upcoming Russian-Iranian contacts.
This meeting preceded Tehran's presentation of a concrete seven-step plan, transmitted to Washington via Qatar. "If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and normal navigation restored within seven days. The choice now belongs to the United States," Araghchi said, specifying that the requested measures are "not new" but are already included in the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington before its violation this summer. The strait would reopen on the sixth day, and negotiations on a final agreement would begin on the seventh.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, interviewed by CBS, recalled that the reopening must conform to the memorandum signed in Pakistan: "We signed, the President of the United States signed, we were moving forward on this basis." If Washington agrees to resume this framework, "everything will return to normal," he added.
Araghchi also denounced from the UN podium an American-Israeli attempt to "whitewash their criminal acts," detailing a toll of over 5,000 dead, including hundreds of women and children, and citing strikes on a school in Minab, a stadium in Lamerd, and a wedding in Sirik. He judged that the Middle Eastern states that facilitated the aggression, by opening up territory, bases, and intelligence, bear direct responsibility.
On the humanitarian front, the UN warned that at least 45 million people in developing countries risk food shortages if the blockade disrupts the supply of fertilizers, a third of which transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Jorge Moreira da Silva urged Washington and Tehran to treat this issue separately from a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.
SOURCES (2)
- SputnikMEDIUM
