Putin as Mediator Between the United States and Iran

Washington, Agencies: The Russian presidential administration announced yesterday that Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed to U.S. President Donald Trump, in coordination with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian side’s vision regarding a potential resolution to the conflict between the United States and Iran. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “Putin held two meetings with Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Turkmenistan summit (of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Caspian Sea Environmental Summit), and during one of them informed the Iranian president that he would have an upcoming phone call with the U.S. president.” Peskov added, “Putin conveyed to Trump, in coordination with the Iranian president, the Iranian side’s vision regarding a potential resolution to the dispute.”

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he had a “very successful” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social: “I just concluded a very successful meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is moving to intensify economic pressure on Iran, a path that may extend longer than Washington initially anticipated amid the ongoing stalemate in political settlement and persistent military tensions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. According to a report published by The Washington Post, the U.S. administration has increasingly relied on naval blockades and financial sanctions to drain Tehran’s resources and push it back to the negotiating table, after previous pressures failed to yield the rapid results touted by U.S. officials.

Trump had spoken on Thursday of “productive discussions” with Iran, ruling out a new attack on the country ahead of the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for November. He wrote on his Truth Social platform: “We are having productive discussions with Iran.” He added, “I want to make it clear to everyone that while Iran is in a very difficult position, economically and militarily, and while the (U.S.) naval blockade will remain fully in force, we will not launch an attack on Iran before the midterm elections in the United States on November 3.”

For its part, Ali Jahanpanah, commander of the Iranian Army Ground Forces, announced the continued deployment of more than 50 combat and support units along the country’s borders, affirming their readiness to confront threats. He stated that the movement of personnel, ammunition, and equipment was carried out using heavy vehicles, and that the maneuvers were conducted at night under the threat of aircraft and drones. He also pointed to the construction of trenches, tunnels, firing positions, and defensive fortifications within camps, aimed at reducing human casualties and limiting the exposure of equipment to targeting.