Iranupdated 44m ago3 min read
Iran Sends Mixed Signals as Putin Backs Tehran and Lavrov Calls Iran’s Cause Just
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Iran open to talks with the US under a Pakistan-brokered interim deal, envoy says. Putin backs Tehran and positions Russia as a potential intermediary with Washington.
7 outlets told this the same way.
Deadlock, Moscow as go-between
Iran’s diplomatic signals to the United States remained mixed as Russian President Vladimir Putin met Tehran’s position and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Iran’s cause as “just,” while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Tehran on Tuesday that the two countries had “never” worked as closely as they do now. Russian officials also indicated that Moscow was prepared to receive Iran’s uranium stockpile enriched to 60%, but Iran rejected transferring its enriched uranium abroad and denied that nuclear negotiations with Washington are under way. Iranian media and commentators questioned how much Moscow could achieve as an intermediary given the fundamental differences between Tehran and Washington, and Tabnak warned that “no mediator can guarantee success.”
Rouydad24 argued that “there was little evidence Moscow had brought a comprehensive plan capable of breaking the deadlock,” framing Russia’s role as a continuation of facilitation rather than a decisive package. Reformist journalist Ahmad Zeidabadi urged Iranian decision-makers to welcome any Russian initiative capable of stopping another war, writing on Telegram that “Russian interference is an evil, of course, but compared with the prospect of another war, it is the lesser evil.”
Trump’s campaign remarks
US President Donald Trump said he must “stop” killing Iranian leaders to identify negotiating partners, telling a campaign rally in Georgia, “I gotta stop” killing Iranian leaders, “because I gotta figure out who the hell we're negotiating with.” Trump reiterated that Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons and defended his 2018 withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, saying he “terminated it, luckily, just in time.” Trump claimed that US military operations destroyed Iran’s uranium-enrichment capacity, saying, “We obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity with Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury,” and he linked those operations to military activity in 2025 and between February and May this year.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of pushing itself into a crisis through miscalculations and its decision to wage war against Iran, saying it was “the responsibility for resolving the confrontation rested with the US.” Ghalibaf rejected pressure tactics and said, “Therefore, threats of widespread war or assassination are not matters that will make the Iranian nation compromise on its rights and interests.”
Talks hinge on Hormuz blockade
Iran’s readiness for US talks continued to be tied to maritime conditions, as Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri-Moghaddam said Iran is prepared to resume negotiations under Pakistan’s mediation but reopening the Strait of Hormuz hinges on lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports. Amiri-Moghaddam said Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir raised the position during his visit to Tehran, and the diplomacy centered on restoring shipping through the strait while lifting the US naval blockade. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said management of the Strait of Hormuz and shipping routes “will no longer be the same” after the recent wars in the region, and he said discussions on future arrangements will continue.
Arab News reported that Pakistan and Qatar helped broker a June interim deal to end the conflict, which sought to restore shipping through the strait, lift the US naval blockade, and begin negotiations toward a broader deal addressing Iran’s nuclear program. Amiri Moghadam also told a seminar in Islamabad that Iran conveyed willingness to reopen the strait if Washington ended its blockade, and he said, “We will study the Makkah Agreement, and if it is good, we will support it.”