USSR backs Security Council resolution 598

Iranian security forces arrested Tudeh leader Nur-al-Din Kianuri in the first wave of a crackdown on the Soviet-linked party.

A further wave of arrests targeted Tudeh members and supporters in Tehran and the provinces, intensifying the repression of the party.

Iran declared Tudeh illegal and announced the expulsion of 18 Soviet diplomats, alleging interference in domestic affairs.

The USSR announced the expulsion of three Iranian diplomats after Tehran’s earlier expulsion of Soviet personnel, deepening bilateral tensions.

Iran announced plans to renew gas sales to the USSR after an interruption in deliveries.

Iran notified the UN Secretary-General of its acceptance of resolution 598, moving the peace process toward a ceasefire and easing a major obstacle to regional diplomacy.

The UN-supervised ceasefire began, ending the war’s main fighting and creating a more favourable setting for renewed Iranian–Soviet cooperation.

Khomeini’s letter to Gorbachev challenged Marxist materialism and urged study of Islamic thought, while expressing interest in good-neighbourly relations. The exchange showed that diplomatic contact...

The USSR completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, removing a major source of tension with Iran without ending Afghanistan’s internal war.

Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze met Khomeini in Tehran and conveyed Gorbachev’s reply, combining discussion of their differing worldviews with renewed bilateral contact.