Iran's FM Araghchi meets Putin in Moscow as U.S.-Iran diplomacy falters
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on April 27 as U.S.-Iran talks stalled over war terms. - Putin said Russia would do “everything” serving Iran and the region, while Araghchi later praised Moscow’s diplomatic backing and “strategic partnership.” - The impasse centers on Hormuz access and Iran’s nuclear file after Trump rejected Tehran’s latest proposal. (france24.com)
Iran’s foreign minister went to St. Petersburg on April 27 to see Vladimir Putin as talks with Washington over ending the war hit another deadlock. (france24.com) (usnews.com) Abbas Araghchi met Putin at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library, where the Russian president told him Moscow would do “everything” serving Iran’s interests and those of the wider region. (france24.com) (usnews.com) Putin also praised Iranians for defending their “independence and sovereignty” under U.S. and Israeli pressure, and Reuters reported Russia again signaled it was ready to mediate. (usnews.com) (english.alarabiya.net) The Moscow stop came after a failed push to restart direct diplomacy with the United States. By April 28, a U.S. official told Reuters that Donald Trump was unhappy with Iran’s latest proposal. (france24.com) That proposal would reportedly postpone the nuclear dispute and focus first on ending the war and resolving shipping tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that handles about one-fifth of traded oil and gas in peacetime. (france24.com 1) (france24.com 2) Araghchi used the Russia visit to blame Washington for the collapse of earlier talks, while presenting Moscow as a dependable partner. On April 28 he said recent events showed the “depth” of the Iran-Russia strategic relationship. (france24.com) (english.alarabiya.net) Russia’s offer is not new. Moscow has repeatedly proposed storing Iran’s enriched uranium as a way to lower tensions, a step Reuters reported the United States has rejected. (france24.com) The timing matters for Moscow as well as Tehran. France 24, citing analysts, said a prolonged Iran crisis could lift oil prices and pull U.S. attention and military resources away from Ukraine. (france24.com) For now, the diplomacy is split in two: Iran wants immediate relief on war and shipping, while Washington is still pressing the nuclear issue. Araghchi’s Moscow visit showed Tehran is leaning on Russia while that gap stays open. (france24.com) (english.alarabiya.net)
