Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to aid President Donald Trump in securing a deal with Iran on its nuclear program, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Trump proposed the idea to Putin in a phone call in February, with officials working in the background to secure the arrangement, people familiar with the matter in Moscow told Bloomberg. The move comes in the midst of negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, where Trump has aggressively pushed for peace in the region despite the objections of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Given the significance of these matters, it’s possible that many parties will show good will and readiness to help with various problems,” Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said during a televised press conference Monday in Tehran. “From this perspective, it’s natural that countries will present an offer of help if it’s needed.”
Trump called Putin in February, marking the informal beginning of peace negotiations for the war. Days later, U.S officials spoke with Russians in Saudi Arabia to flesh out the deal, according to Bloomberg.
Iran can make a nuclear weapon with 60% enriched uranium in just one week with its stockpile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a November bulletin.
Trump initially struck down the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal in his first term, a deal that fielded heavy criticism for its supposedly soft treatment of the Islamic Republic. The Biden administration attempted to renegotiate the deal upon assuming office, but admitted in 2022 that the deal was “dead.”
Iran has maintained very close relations with the Kremlin, but it remains unclear whether or not Iran will accept a deal with the U.S., as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in February that talks with the U.S. would be “unwise and dishonorable,” according to Bloomberg.
The State Department, the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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