Russia agrees to assist US in communicating with Iran, report says

President Donald Trump reportedly relayed his interest directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February

President Donald Trump has said he wants Iran to be a 'great and successful country'. Reuters

Russia has agreed to assist President Donald Trump’s administration in communicating with Iran on various issues, including Tehran's nuclear programme and its support for anti-US regional proxies, a news report has said.

Mr Trump relayed his interest directly to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February, Bloomberg reported, citing people in Moscow familiar with the matter. Senior officials from the Trump administration also discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts at talks in Saudi Arabia days later.

In the weeks since he took office, Mr Trump has shown a willingness to repair the relationship between Washington and Moscow, which was damaged after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Mr Trump has promised to bring an end to the devastating conflict.

Top US and Russian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, discussed Washington’s interest in Moscow helping with Iranian issues during a February 18 meeting in Riyadh, the people with knowledge of the situation said. Mr Lavrov later shared details of the US meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi when they met in Tehran, Mr Araghchi said in a press conference after the meeting.

As president, Mr Trump has sent mixed signals on Iran. During his first term, he instituted a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, which he restarted soon after he re-entered the White House, and also ordered the killing of a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general in Iraq. But Mr Trump has also said he wants Iran to be a “great and successful country” and that he would “love to make a great deal” with Tehran on its nuclear programme to ensure peace.

As countries under heavy US sanctions, Russia and Iran have deepened co-operation on trade and energy, as well as security, with Russia using large numbers of Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine. Moscow and Tehran signed a broad co-operation deal in mid-January, days before Mr Trump's inauguration.