The United States and Iran, which have not had diplomatic relations for more than 40 years, are seeking a new nuclear deal after Trump pulled out of a landmark agreement during his first term.
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are due to meet in Rome on Saturday, a week after they held the highest-level Iranian-US nuclear negotiations since the collapse of a 2015 accord.
In March, Trump sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging talks but warning of possible military action if they failed to produce a deal.
Trump administration officials revealed to the New York Times that Israel had sought Washington's assistance to carry out an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities in May.
According to the Times, the plan and its possible maneuvers were under consideration for months.
But during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House last week, Trump told the Israelis he would not support an attack. The president instead publicly announced the direct talks with Tehran.
Iran has consistently denied that it is seeking nuclear weapons, but has stepped up its nuclear capacities since Trump scrapped the 2015 agreement.
The latest International Atomic Energy Agency report noted with "serious concern" that Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent, nearing the weapons grade of 90 percent.
Kremlin says ready to help with Iran-US nuclear talks
Moscow (AFP) April 16, 2025 -
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia was ready to do "everything" in its powers to help find a diplomatic resolution to the stand-off between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme.
The comments come a day before Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is due in Moscow for talks with top Russian officials, including on the state of the US-Iran talks.
Moscow, which commands the world's largest confirmed arsenal of nuclear weapons, has deepened its military ties with Iran since it launched its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.
"The Russian Federation remains ready to do everything within our capabilities to contribute to the settlement of the situation by political and diplomatic means," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, responding to a question from AFP over whether Moscow would consider being a guarantor of any deal.
An Iranian MP had raised the possibility of Russia and China being joint guarantors of any future agreement in an interview with Russia's state-run RIA Novosti.
Russia has issued multiple calls for calm after US President Donald Trump last month appeared to threaten to bomb Iran if it did not engage in talks about restricting its nuclear programme.
Peskov did not say whether Russia would act as guarantor to any agreement, only that Moscow was "counting" on a second round of talks between Iran and the United States.
Iranian and US officials held indirect talks in Oman last week, the highest-level meeting between the two sides since Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018.
Also on Wednesday the upper house of the Russian parliament voted to ratify a strategic partnership treaty with Iran that was signed by the two countries' leaders earlier this year.
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