Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed Tehran's vision for a possible end to the war in Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian state media reported Saturday.
The report comes a day after Trump said Russia will supply diesel to the global market amid a surge in energy prices caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin sent the message to Trump "in agreement with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian," according to a Google translation.
Other Russian media reports said Putin spoke to Trump by phone after the Russian leader met Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan.
Interfax didn't elaborate on the specifics of how Iran sees the war — which began on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets — coming to an end.
The White House didn't immediately respond to CNBC's emailed request to confirm the reported conversation between Putin and Trump.
Trump said Friday that Russia will supply more than 4 million tons of diesel to the global market under an arrangement the U.S. president said he agreed with Putin during a phone call.
Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons immediately thereafter, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Moscow will then deliver another 3 million tons of diesel based on the condition of Russia's refineries, Trump said.
The Treasury Department temporarily waived sanctions on Russian diesel through April 2027 under a general license issued Friday.
Iran has stepped up its attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with vessels coming under fire almost daily as Tehran tries to choke off a rebound in crude exports.
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard official said Wednesday that Iran will block all "illicit routes" through Hormuz, according to the Fars News Agency, an outlet considered close to the Guard.
The surge in attacks on tankers comes as crude oil exports from the Middle East rebounded in September to prewar levels, largely because the U.S. military escorted ships through Hormuz along Oman's coast.
An interim deal signed in June between the U.S. and Iran to pause hostilities to allow for negotiations quickly broke down.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately condemned Trump's diesel deal with Putin. Ukraine's leader warned that easing sanctions without a commitment from Russia to de-escalate the war will only prolong it.
"Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world," Zelenskyy said in a social media post. "Russia will 'repay' the diesel with further terror and perfidy. Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged."
Diesel prices have surged worldwide as Ukraine has pounded Russian refineries, forcing Moscow to ban diesel exports to global markets. Iran and its Houthi allies have also attacked refineries in the Middle East, further constraining fuel supplies.
Trump is under growing political pressure to lower fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections. Republicans face competitive elections in conservative strongholds like Iowa, where farmers feel the pinch of high diesel prices.
