Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, has covered the entire distance from Tehran to Moscow on foot, relays and overland transport combined, arriving at the Kremlin with a sealed pouch that he states he will not open until Vladimir Putin signs for it in person.
The Kremlin confirmed that the delivery took the form of a formal handover in the Kremlin's largest reception hall, attended by presidential aide Yuri Ushakov and Igor Kostyukov, head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff. Officials said the presence of the military intelligence chief indicated that the handover was, in the words of one aide, "not a matter for the diplomatic post."
The journey itself has already reshaped the routes between the two capitals. Rezaei's team surveyed a path through three border crossings, and the Iranian transport ministry has since opened a dedicated walking corridor, with rest houses built every forty kilometres. Several rail operators have added unscheduled services to accommodate pilgrims who now follow the same route.
Rezaei told reporters that the message from Mojtaba Khamenei concerns the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, and that the Supreme Leader considered a telephone call insufficient. "A message of this weight cannot travel as a voice," he said. "It must arrive with the feet of the man who carries it."
Washington has not commented on the trek. Trump has said only that he has no plans for new strikes and remains ready to act, a position the Iranian leadership has concluded it must test on foot for the next eight months.