Russia has condemned the "assassination" of Iranian leaders in US-Israeli airstrikes, Reuters reports.
Its position comes a day after the semi-official Iranian news agency "Fars" confirmed that a senior adviser to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in Tehran.
"We unequivocally condemn any actions aimed at harming the health or even killing or eliminating members of the leadership of a sovereign and independent Iran, as well as other countries. We condemn such actions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed when asked about Russia's reaction to the death of Ali Larijani.
Russia, which built and helps operate Iran's only nuclear power plant, sharply criticized the US-Israeli air strikes on Iran, its close partner, and called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Russia was expanding its intelligence sharing and military cooperation with Tehran, providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology to help the Islamic Republic attack US forces in the region.
When asked about this information, Peskov noted that it was fake news: "As you know, there are many different reports circulating about this war right now. "Most of them are nothing more than disinformation, so we do not consider it necessary to comment on each of them."
"However, official representatives of the United States have made statements on this issue, while they themselves stated that they have no information on the subject," he added.