New Delhi, March 1 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced a stern condemnation of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, labelling the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader a "cynical murder," according to the state news agency TASS. In his opening public comments following the joint military operations and the ensuing regional retaliation, Putin denounced the character of the assault. Reflecting on the partnership between Moscow and Tehran, he remarked that Khamenei would be honoured within Russia as a "distinguished statesman."

He stated that the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei violated "all norms of human morality and international law," as per TASS.

These statements from Putin arrive amid soaring friction in West Asia after sync...