MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. In its relations with Iran Moscow relies on Tehran’s official statements and knows well who would like to manipulate with them, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"We know very well all those who would like to manipulate with them [relations between Russia and Iran] to the detriment of Russia’s interests and its centuries-old ties with Iran. On the whole, we invariably rely on Tehran’s official stance that has been expressed more than once," Zakharova said in reply to a TASS request for a comment on leaked excerpts from an interview with the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"Our friend, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is apparently living through no easy times," Zakharova said. "For this reason, any media outbreaks, in our opinion, must be looked at through the lens of these circumstances."

On April 25, a number of Western media carried reports citing excerpts from an unpublished interview with Zarif, allegedly recorded in March. Apart from the transcript an audio file with the voice of the Iranian foreign minister was made public. Zarif is heard discussing a visit by the commander of the special force Quds of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Qasem Soleimani to Moscow in 2015, the future of the nuclear deal and the participants’ attitude to it, the conflict in Syria and Russia’s role and also Moscow-Washington relations.