During a recent trip to Tehran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said differences over Iran’s nuclear program could still be resolved diplomatically.
Moscow is prepared to assist in talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations,” Peskov said in remarks to Bloomberg’s Daybreak podcast on March 4.
Moscow, he added, “is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this.”
In subsequent remarks, Peksov declined to confirm reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to mediate would-be talks between Iran and the United States.
“No, I can’t confirm it,” he said on the evening of March 4 in response to a reporter’s question.
On March 5, Peskov said at a news conference that the issue of Iran’s nuclear program “should be resolved exclusively through peaceful, political, and diplomatic means.”
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Describing Iran as an ally and partner of Russia, he said Moscow was “ready to do everything possible” to assist in finding a diplomatic solution.
The United States, Peskov added, “is aware of this.”
Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2022, it has drawn increasingly close to Iran. In January, the two countries signed a landmark strategic partnership deal.
‘Maximum Pressure’
Early last month, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” approach to Iran, which he applied throughout much of his first term in office from 2017 to 2021.
Ostensibly aimed at stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the policy entails a range of measures aimed at reducing Iranian oil exports to zero.
“With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Feb. 4 after signing a presidential memorandum re-imposing the policy.
He added that he remained open to holding talks with Tehran, voicing a willingness to meet his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
On March 4, Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the U.S. administration was willing to “talk to our adversaries and allies alike, but … from a position of strength to defend our national security.”
In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from a seminal 2015 deal with Iran that had sought to limit the latter’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
After withdrawing from the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart in Moscow on Oct. 6, 2021. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images
Late last month, Iran appeared to reject direct talks with Washington as long as Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy remains in place.
“We will not negotiate under pressure, threat, or sanctions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Tehran.
He made the assertion during a joint press conference with Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, who visited the Iranian capital on Feb. 25.
Araghchi’s remarks came one day after the United States imposed a fresh round of sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, the Islamic Republic’s primary source of revenue.
He said that Tehran would “coordinate” its position on any future nuclear talks “with our friends in Russia and China.”
Lavrov declined to rule out a diplomatic solution, saying he and his Iranian counterpart had spoken at length about Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We are convinced that diplomatic resources have not yet been exhausted,” Lavrov said.
He added that such resources “must be used effectively, without threats or hints of military solutions.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
