Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Tehran as planned on Monday evening, Iran's Foreign Ministry said, after reports about a possible plot to assassinate him during his visit for a Caspian Sea summit.
"Mr Putin will ... be arriving this evening," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told a weekly news briefing, cited by Reuters.
On Sunday, the Kremlin said it was unaware of any changes in Putin's plans to visit Tehran. "We do not have any information about any changes," Kremlin deputy spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Reuters. "The preparations are continuing for President Putin to take part in the Caspian summit (in Tehran)," he said.
Peskov said he was unable to confirm the existence of a plot but said Putin had been briefed on the reports. "The information is being dealt with by the secret services .... The president has been informed," said Peskov.
Russia's Interfax news agency, citing unnamed sources, said on Sunday suicide bombers and kidnappers were preparing to kill or capture Putin when he visits Tehran. Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as totally baseless.
