The story: Iran has hosted the leaders of Russia and Turkey for bilateral talks and a trilateral summit on Syria. In a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that attacking northern Syria will only benefit “terrorists.” Separately, Khamenei told Russian President Vladimir Putin that it is “necessary” for both countries to enhance relations. Notably, the Iranian leader seems to have condoned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, telling Putin that had he not attacked first, “the other side” would have waged war.

The coverage: Putin and Erdogan traveled to Tehran on July 19 to attend an Astana format summit on Syria hosted by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi. However, many headlines were sparked by other developments during the day, including bilateral talks...