Iran taking concrete steps to resolve conflict with US – Putin

Tehran is striving to find a diplomatic solution to the war imposed on it by the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Russian president noted that Tehran had recently put forward a proposal aimed at resolving the conflict peacefully, adding that Moscow is willing to play a constructive role in the process.

“Iran is making real efforts to end the conflict, which broke out in the region through no fault of its own, through no fault of Iran,” Putin said.

Putin also hailed the deepening cooperation between Russia and Iran, especially in trade and humanitarian affairs, during bilateral talks in Turkmenistan, where he is set to take part in a leaders’ summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and a Caspian Sea environmental summit.

Moscow has repeatedly condemned the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and called for a diplomatic solution. During his visit to Tehran in July, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that “there was no serious reason for the American attack” as Tehran “posed no threat” to Washington.

In late September, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Tehran had submitted a peace plan to the US. Under the roadmap, the Islamic Republic signaled its readiness to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz – a strategically important waterway for crude oil exports from the Middle East.

In exchange, Iran, which imposed a blockade on the crucial oil shipping route after the start of the conflict, expects the US to lift its own blockade of the Islamic Republic, ease restrictions on its oil exports, and release some of its frozen assets. Tehran is also seeking an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Israel’s military operation in Lebanon.

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York last month, President Pezeshkian reiterated that his country was prepared for “dialogue and diplomacy” but would not negotiate under threats.

While there have been media reports of indirect negotiations between the two countries in recent weeks, President Trump has rejected the Iranian proposal outright. He told reporters that Tehran wants to “make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make.” The US president has also suggested that Washington is not ruling out resuming strikes on Iran in the coming weeks.