Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called the Iranian regime a "loyal friend and reliable partner" in a message congratulating the Iranian people on Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
"Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people strength in overcoming these severe trials and emphasised that during this difficult time, Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran," the Kremlin said in a statement.
This represents one of the first public messages of support from the Russian government to the Iranian regime, with previous statements urging restraint and de-escalation rather than open support.
The latest Russian proposal to reach a ceasefire in the region, which Putin personally told US President Donald Trump during a call, aimed to move Iran's enriched uranium to Russia as a way to de-escalate the situation.
According to Axios, Trump rejected the proposal, alongside several other plans offered by Putin to end the war with Iran.
Russia shares intelligence with Iran to target American bases
A report posted by The Washington Post during the first week of the war revealed that Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence to help it target US assets in the Middle East.
According to the report, Russia has been giving Iran the locations of US military assets since the outbreak of the war, including warships and aircraft.
Another report published by Politico said that Russia offered to stop sharing intelligence with Iran if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intelligence about Russia, but the United States rejected the idea. The Kremlin has dismissed the report as fake.
The published strategic partnership between Tehran and Moscow does not contain a mutual defense clause, and Russia has repeatedly said that it does not want Iran to develop an atomic bomb, a step that Moscow fears would trigger a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.
Ariella Roitman and Reuters contributed to this report.