 "Russian President Vladimir Putin with Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei")
Russia on Monday (March 10) denied having held consultations with Iran over its response to a letter by US President Donald Trump urging Tehran to negotiate a nuclear deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “No. Iran is a sovereign country and independently formulates its position on key foreign policy issues. It is clear that very tense contacts are ahead."
On Saturday (March 8), Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the US push for talks, saying they are aimed at curtailing Iranian missile range and its influence in the region.
The Kremlin added Russia will continue to do everything possible to settle the matter between Iran and the US in a peaceful manner.
“We, of course, for our part, will continue to do everything that depends on us, everything that is possible, in order to bring this process of settling the Iranian nuclear dossier into a peaceful direction.”
Iran’s response to Trump’s letter
Khamenei shied away from taking any country’s name but said a “bullying government” was pressing Tehran for talks but they were “not aimed at solving problems”.
“It is for … let’s talk to impose what we want on the other party that is sitting on the opposite side of the table,” said the supreme leader, who enjoys the final say on all state matters.
“They will be about defense capabilities, about international capabilities of the country. (They will urge Iran) not to do (certain) things, not to meet some certain people, not to go to a certain place, not to produce some items, your missile range should not be more than a certain distance. Is it possible for anybody to accept these?” he added.
Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy
The US president is pursuing his so-called “maximum pressure” policy on Iran, which involves strangulating the Shi’ite country’s economy to rein in its nuclear programme, which Washington claims is aimed at developing an atomic bomb.
Earlier on Friday, while speaking at the Oval Office, Trump made a subtle reference to potential military action against Iran.
“We have a situation with Iran that, something’s going to happen very soon. Very, very soon,” Trump announced.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIsrael and the United States have both stated that they will never allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, raising concerns about potential military conflict.
Iran insists that its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes. However, amid ongoing tensions with the US over sanctions and with Israel due to the war in Gaza, Iranian officials have increasingly hinted at the possibility of pursuing nuclear weapons.
Russia seeking a mediator role between Iran and US
Last week, it was reported in the media that Russia has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran.
Russia’s state-run Zvezda media outlet reported, citing Peskov, that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to mediate between Tehran and Washington in talks over nuclear weapons.
(With inputs from agencies)