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An image of Russian President Vladimir Putin is being shared on the internet to claim that he has recently expressed support for Iran if the United States unleashes an attack on Iranian soil to support Israel.
What is the truth?: There is no evidence to prove that Putin had indeed made such a statement about supporting Iran if US intervenes.
How did we find that out?: We searched for official information on Google using the words "Russia Iran attack Israel statement" and came across a news report published by The Moscow Times.
It mentioned that Russia had urged all sides to "show restraint" after Iran's attack on Israel.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said that they are counting on the regional states to "solve the existing problems with political and diplomatic means."
However, it did not mention anything about Putin expressing support for Iran if the US intervenes.
What did the entire statement say?: The statement said that as per the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the attack carried out by Iran was a part of the right to self-defence.
The ministry condemned the attack on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Syria's Damascus on 1 April.
"We express our extreme concern at yet another dangerous escalation in the region," read the statement.
In the final paragraph, the ministry encouraged Russian citizens living in other Middle Eastern countries to follow media reports and recommendations posted on its newsfeed.
Again, we did not find Putin's statements in support of Iran if it gets attacked by US.
No reports or information available in the public domain: Team WebQoof did not find any news reports or information in the public domain which indicated towards Putin making such a statement as claimed.
It should be noted that if the Russian President had made such remarks, it would have received media attention considering the sensitiveness and importance of the matter.
According to Washington Post, Russia arms maker had invited Iranian delegation to shopping tour of their weapons factories last March.
The report further noted that this is helping Iran to strengthen their defences against Israel.
Conclusion: We did not find any evidence to prove that Russian President Putin expressed his support to Iran, if the US decides to enter Iranian soil.
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