The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the “significant outcomes” of his Alaska summit with President Donald Trump during a telephone call on Monday.
Trump and Putin met in Alaska on August 15 to talk about ending the war in Ukraine. Both leaders described the meeting as “productive” in their public remarks, but no further concrete steps toward peace in Ukraine have yet been taken.
Putin reportedly told Pezeshkian that if the agreements he reached with Trump in Alaska can be “fully implemented,” the Russian invasion of Ukraine can end.
The Kremlin said Pezeshkian “expressed support for the ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis” during his phone call with Putin.
Iranian state media reported that Pezeshkian also thanked Putin for supporting Iran’s “right to enrichment” of uranium.
The Iranian leader repeated Tehran’s unconvincing claim that it has “never sought and will never seek to develop nuclear weapons,” without explaining why Iran has been so determined to enrich a large stockpile of uranium beyond any conceivable civilian use.
Putin and Pezeshkian completed their call by making plans to meet in person at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China, which begins on August 31.
Pezeshkian was eager to lock down Putin’s support ahead of nuclear talks between Iran, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Geneva on Tuesday.
The three European parties to former president Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have threatened to trigger “snapback” sanctions against Iran for non-compliance with the terms of the deal.
Iran claims the Europeans have no right to invoke the snapback mechanism because they have not kept all of their promises to Iran under the deal. Tehran is also furious at the International Atomic Energy Agency for not strongly condemning Israeli and U.S. airstrikes against Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities in June.
The deadline for invoking the JCPOA’s snapback mechanism is in October. The Europeans are reportedly prepared to offer Iran an extension if it resumes cooperation with the IAEA and returns to nuclear talks with the United States.
Some Iranian officials think Russia should have done more to stand up for Iran during the Israeli and American airstrikes, and seem unconcerned about the danger of alienating Russia during nuclear talks with the Europeans.
Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran’s powerful Expediency Discernment Council, on Monday accused Russia of providing Israel with intelligence that helped it neutralize Iran’s air defenses in June.
“This war proved the strategic alliance with Moscow is worthless,” Sadr declared.
Sadr further accused Israel of assassinating Pezeshkian’s predecessor as president, Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.
“From the very first moment I said this was an assassination… carried out by Israel,” he said.
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