Bloomberg: Putin Agrees to Help Trump Establish Communication with Iran

Bloomberg reported that the Russian government has agreed to assist Donald Trump's administration in communicating with Iran on issues such as its nuclear program and support for anti-American proxy groups in the Middle East. This report, published on Tuesday, March 5, cites unnamed Russian sources and adds that Mr. Trump raised this request during a phone call last month with Vladimir Putin, and senior officials from his administration discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts a few days later during negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told Bloomberg that Russia believes the U.S. and Iran should resolve all their problems through negotiation and that Moscow is ready to use all its capabilities to achieve this goal. The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not respond to Bloomberg's inquiry, but Ismail Baqaei, the spokesperson for Iran's diplomatic apparatus, stated at a press conference on Monday that it is natural for countries to offer help. He explained, 'Given the importance of these issues, it is possible for many parties to show goodwill and readiness to help solve various problems, and from this perspective, it is natural for countries to offer assistance if necessary.' Previously, there had been speculation regarding U.S.-Russia negotiations over Iran, especially since Steve Wittecuff, the U.S. special envoy for Middle East affairs, was present in the high-level talks between Russian and American delegations in Saudi Arabia regarding the Ukraine peace plan on February 19. Sources informed Bloomberg that the foreign ministers of the two countries also discussed the issue of Iran during their meeting in Saudi Arabia. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, claimed last week during Sergey Lavrov's visit to Tehran that he was 'not carrying any specific message from the U.S.' However, informed sources told Bloomberg that Mr. Lavrov shared details of his negotiations with his American counterpart in Saudi Arabia with Abbas Araghchi. Nevertheless, the Iranian foreign minister stated at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart that 'there is no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the U.S. on the nuclear issue as long as maximum pressure is applied in this manner.' Since Mr. Trump took office about six weeks ago, he has been trying to improve relations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and so far, two phone calls have taken place between the leaders of the two countries, during the latest of which, on February 13, both sides expressed their willingness to cooperate on a wide range of issues, including geopolitical interests such as trade routes and natural resources in the Arctic. Mr. Trump also expressed hesitation when signing the order to increase maximum pressure against Iran, hoping that it would not be necessary to use it. Bloomberg, noting the explicit opposition of Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, to negotiating with the U.S., as well as recent statements by Masoud Pezeshkian about his refusal to pursue negotiations with the U.S. due to Khamenei's opposition, writes that it is unclear how receptive Tehran would be to any messages from Washington via Moscow. The Iranian president stated on March 3 during the impeachment session of Abdolnaser Hemmati in parliament that one of the solutions to the country's economic problems is dialogue with the U.S., but he has been prohibited from doing so by Ali Khamenei. According to Bloomberg, many hardliners who dominate powerful institutions such as the Revolutionary Guards and the judiciary in Iran have also emphasized their opposition to engaging with the U.S.