Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Wednesday to help mediate an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran, suggesting Moscow could help negotiate a settlement that could allow Tehran to pursue a peaceful atomic program while assuaging Israeli security concerns, AP reported. Speaking to senior news leaders of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin noted that “it’s a delicate issue,” but added that “in my view, a solution could be found.” Meanwhile, Iran launched a fresh salvo of missiles at Israel on Thursday, with a hospital reported hit, as US President Donald Trump warned he was weighing US military action in the conflict.
Asked how Russia would react if Israel kills Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Putin refused to answer, saying that “I don’t even want to discuss such a possibility.” AP reported that Khamenei has rejected US calls for surrender in the face of more Israeli strikes and warned that any military involvement by the Americans would cause “irreparable damage to them.”
On his part, Trump has left his intentions on joining the conflict deliberately ambiguous, saying Wednesday: "I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do." "The next week is going to be very big," he added, without further details. According to AFP, the White House said Trump would receive an intelligence briefing on Thursday, a US holiday. Top US diplomat Marco Rubio is set meet his British counterpart for talks expected to focus on the conflict. "I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final (decision)," Trump said. "I like to make the final decision one second before it's due, because things change. Especially with war."
Putin said he shared Moscow’s proposals with Iran, Israel and the United States. “We are not imposing anything on anyone; we are simply talking about how we see a possible way out of the situation. But the decision, of course, is up to the political leadership of all these countries, primarily Iran and Israel,” he said.
According to AP, Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it developed strong economic and military ties with Iran, a policy that could allow Moscow to play power broker. Putin’s comments follow a mediation offer that he made in a call with U.S. President Donald Trump last weekend.
Trump said on Wednesday that he told Putin to stay focused on finding an endgame to his own conflict with Ukraine. “I said, ‘Do me a favor, mediate your own,’” Trump said he told Putin, according to AP. “I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later.’”
The comments represented a shift for Trump, who earlier this week said he was “open” to Putin’s offer to mediate in the Middle East.
Putin emphasized that Russia has a trusting relationship with Iran and helped built its first nuclear power plant in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf south of Tehran. He said that over 200 Russian workers are involved in building two more reactors in Bushehr, adding that “we agreed with the Israeli leadership that their security will be ensured.”
Putin said that Tehran hasn’t asked Moscow for military assistance, noting the “strategic partnership” treaty between the countries that was signed in January doesn’t envision such aid. In addition to a few air defense systems that Russia supplied to Iran in the past, it also offered previously to help create comprehensive air defenses, but Tehran didn’t want it, he said, according to AP.
Meanwhile, Trump told reporters that Iranian officials "want to come to the White House", a claim denied by Tehran. According to AFP, the US president had favoured a diplomatic route to end Iran's nuclear programme, seeking a deal to replace the 2015 agreement he tore up in his first term. But since Israel unleashed the campaign against Iran one week ago, Trump has stood behind the key US ally.
The United States is the only country with the "bunker buster" bombs needed to destroy Iran's Fordow nuclear plant, but US military action is deeply unpopular with parts of Trump's base. Khamenei on Wednesday insisted Iran "will never surrender", and called Trump's ultimatum "unacceptable". "America should know that any military intervention will undoubtedly result in irreparable damage," Khamenei added.
Putin on Wednesday also praised Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine, seconding the American leader’s repeated claims that the 3-year-old conflict wouldn’t have started if he had been in the White House in 2022. “If Trump had been the president, the conflict indeed might not have erupted,” Putin said.
Russia has intensified its aerial campaign in Ukraine recently and stepped up ground attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line. Putin has effectively rejected Trump’s offer of an immediate 30-day ceasefire, making it conditional on a halt on Ukraine’s mobilization effort and a freeze on Western arms supplies.
He said he is open for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but repeated his claim that he lost his legitimacy after his term expired last year, allegations rejected by Kyiv and its allies. “We are ready for substantive talks on the principles of a settlement,” Putin said, noting the previous round of talks had led to an exchange of prisoners and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Asked by AP about Russia condemning Israel’s strikes on Iran even as Ukrainian civilians are killed in attacks by Moscow, Putin responded that Russia was targeting the country’s arms factories. “The strikes were carried out against military industries, not residential quarters,” Putin said.
