Tehran, Iran - Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call that Moscow was ready to help efforts to mediate the Middle East war, Iranian state media reported on Wednesday, with the months-long conflict locked in a stalemate.

Russia and Iran – two of the most sanctioned countries in the world – have significantly deepened their military and trade ties during Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.

The Russian leader and Pezeshkian in their call spoke of the "positive and expanding trajectory of relations" between the two allies, stressing the need to further deepen ties, state news agency IRNA reported.

On the war, Putin "referred to efforts by some countries to mediate and help reduce tensions, saying that Russia supports" them, the agency added.

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Putin said that Iran "can be assured that Moscow is also ready to play a role and provide assistance in this regard", according to IRNA.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last month said in a UN speech that Moscow was ready to help stabilise the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Gulf region as the war drags on.

The Middle East war began in late February with the US and Israeli attacks on Iran that killed its former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has blockaded the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway, which has become the focal point of the conflict, while the US has maintained a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.