The comment came during a telephone conversation between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday, January 16, 2026, during which they discussed recent regional and international developments, particularly the violent riots in Iran, as well as the latest status of bilateral relations across various sectors.

Pezeshkian expressed gratitude for Russia's supportive stance toward the Islamic Republic of Iran's legitimate positions in the United Nations and other international forums.

He provided an overview of the events in Iran over the past few days and highlighted the direct involvement by the United States, the Israeli regime, and some European countries in those incidents that led to martyrdom of a large number of civilians, including children, as well as security forces.

"Our approach in domestic policy is people-centered, and all our efforts are focused on listening to the legitimate demands of the people and reducing problems caused by unjust sanctions. On the other hand, the great Iranian nation, with its epic and million-strong presence shortly after these events, dismantled the platform of rioters and vandalists," Pezeshkian emphasized.

The Iranian president also reviewed the strong cooperation between the two countries in trade, investment, transportation, power plants, and energy sectors.

"Joint projects between Iran and Russia are progressing at a very good level, the implementation of projects is being followed up weekly, and no problems have been reported in this regard," he noted.

In response, Putin conveyed his pleasure in speaking with Pezeshkian and sent warm greetings to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and the Iranian nation.

He stated that Russia is closely and sensitively monitoring developments in Iran.

Putin described the recent events in Iran as similar to color revolution scenarios and added, "We fully understand that long-term unjust sanctions can cause economic and social problems in Iran, but rioting and vandalism have no compatibility with peaceful and civil protest."

Turning to condemnation of the violence, Putin denounced actions by foreign-backed rioters who attacked government, public, and religious facilities, as well as assaults on security and law enforcement forces, also with foreign support.

"The million-strong march by Iranians after these events in support of the Islamic establishment, the Supreme Leader, and their government clearly shows the real state of affairs in Iran. We hope that with the Iranian government's actions in the economic field, we will witness improvement and strengthening of economic issues, while our diplomatic efforts to explain Iran's conditions and positions and prevent escalation of tensions in international forums continue," Putin stressed.

On bilateral ties, Putin also addressed the current state of relations between the two countries, saying, "We always welcome further expansion of relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The progress in implementing joint cooperation projects is satisfactory. The fact that the presidents of the two countries follow up on the implementation of agreements at the highest level and continuously demonstrates the depth and continuity of sincere relations between Iran and Russia.”

He concluded that in the joint commercial commission of the two countries, areas for further expansion of cooperation will be examined, soon.