Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, spoke on the phone with the leaders of Israel and Iran, as reported by the Kremlin, proposing mediation in light of protests in Iran that have heightened concerns over a military conflict in the area.
Independent observers report that Iranian security personnel have eliminated thousands in a harsh reaction to widespread anti-government demonstrations—a suppression that elicited threats of military intervention from the United States, Israel’s main ally.
Iran has consistently charged the United States and Israel with provoking the turmoil and attempting to weaken the national unity of the Islamic Republic.
In June, Iran and Israel engaged in a short conflict marked by unprecedented Israeli strikes on Iranian military and nuclear sites.
The United States had momentarily participated in those attacks, targeting three key Iranian nuclear facilities.
On Friday, Russia revealed that Putin had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to help ease tensions between the two adversaries.
“The situation in the region is highly tense, and the president continues his efforts to facilitate de-escalation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
During his conversation with Pezeshkian, Putin promised to enhance the “strategic partnership” between their nations, stated the Kremlin.
Pezeshkian expressed gratitude to Putin for Russia’s backing of Iran at the United Nations, according to the Iranian presidency.
Russia views Iran as a strategic ally and is cautious about any conflict that might jeopardize the pro-Moscow government, potentially reducing its regional influence even more.
However, the call signifies the first occasion Putin has addressed the situation in Iran and represents the initial public engagement with its vital Middle Eastern ally since the protests began.
Russia has sought to maintain positive relations with Israel, but those connections have become tense due to Russian disapproval of Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
During a conversation with Israel’s Netanyahu on Friday, the Kremlin indicated that Russia had shown its “willingness to persist in its mediation efforts.”
It did not specify what ongoing initiatives were in progress.
Moscow had earlier proposed to mediate during the June conflict.
Netanyahu stated on Sunday that he wished for Iran to be liberated soon from what he called the “burden of oppression” during the protests.
Nonetheless, the protests seem to have lessened in recent days due to repression and a week-long internet outage.
On Thursday, a senior Saudi official informed AFP that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman spearheaded initiatives to dissuade US President Donald Trump from launching an attack on Iran due to the crackdown on protesters, concerned about potential “serious repercussions in the region.”
