Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on Monday met in Russia with President Vladimir V. Putin to discuss Iran’s war with the United States, as negotiations to end the conflict appear to have stalled.
Mr. Araghchi’s visit underscored Russia’s tricky position, as it tries to remain a key player in the Middle East without undermining its other interests, especially its war in Ukraine.
In opening remarks before the meeting, Mr. Putin said that he had received a message from Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, and that Russia sees how “courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence and for their sovereignty.” He said Moscow hoped that “guided by their new leader, the people of Iran will endure this challenging period of hardship, and peace will prevail.”
“We will do everything in your interests, in the interests of people of the region, so that peace gets achieved as soon as possible,” he said.
Mr. Araghchi’s trip follows a weekend of talks in Pakistan and Oman, which have both acted as mediators in the negotiations between Tehran and Washington. He was supposed to have met with Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, in Pakistan over the weekend, but Mr. Trump abruptly called off the trip.
Mr. Trump’s decision to cancel the trip suggested that the two sides remained far apart on a comprehensive deal to end the war.
On the sidelines of Monday’s meeting, Mr. Araghchi told Russian state media that the United States had asked for negotiations, and that Iran was considering it. But it was unclear whether he was referring to a new round of negotiations after Mr. Trump called off last weekend’s. Both Iran and the United States have traded comments on who has the upper hand in the talks.
After Mr. Araghchi landed in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday, he said he intended to discuss the war with Mr. Putin and other officials and conduct “necessary coordination,” according to Iranian state media.
Omid Memarian, a senior fellow at DAWN, a Washington-based organization focused on the Middle East, suggested that one possibility could be a phased approach to ending the war.
“A phased approach — first ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, then moving to broader negotiations — could give both sides a limited interim victory and create space for talks under less pressure,” Mr. Memarian said, adding that Mr. Putin has often used his ties with Iran as leverage in his broader dealings with Washington. “Mr. Putin may be Iran’s last card in trying to persuade Trump to accept such an arrangement.”
But even though Russia is a key ally of Iran, it has sought to avoid becoming too entangled in the conflict, said Nikita Smagin, an analyst based in Baku, Azerbaijan, who specializes in Russia’s role in the Middle East. Mr. Putin’s main interest, he said, is to persuade Mr. Trump to press Ukraine to accept a peace deal favorable to Moscow.
Russia has also tried to maintain strong ties with Israel and the Persian Gulf countries that Iran has attacked since the war began in late February.
Russia has been “largely limiting its interaction with Iran,” said Mr. Smagin, adding that this approach was “rational,” given Russia’s long-term interests in Ukraine.
“Russia is still trying to be cautious in the areas where Iran needs it most — primarily regarding the supply of weaponry,” he said.
But, he added, Russia also does not want “to ruin her relationships with the Gulf states, Israel and Trump.”
A major issue in the negotiations is the fate of Iran’s enriched uranium. In April, the Kremlin reiterated its readiness to take that uranium. In 2015, Russia took delivery of most of the Iranian stockpile under the nuclear deal that was later canceled by President Trump.
Moscow has provided intelligence to Tehran, including satellite imagery showing the locations of American warships and military personnel, according to U.S. officials. European officials have warned that Russia may be preparing to deliver advanced drones to Iran.
In addition, Moscow has provided diplomatic cover for Iran at the United Nations, vetoing a resolution that called for countries to cooperate to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Russia and Iran do not share a border, but they trade via the Caspian Sea, a link that has become more important since the American blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran has blocked most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a crucial transit route for oil and gas supplies, and the Trump administration has blockaded Iranian ports in response. That has created a surge in global energy prices, which in turn has provided a windfall for Moscow. That windfall, though, is temporary.
“Despite the fact that Russia is technically ‘winning’ — having unexpectedly stumbled into a massive influx of dollars — it risks losing everything in terms of actual influence,” Mr. Smagin said. “In this sense, we see Russia trying to carefully find the right ‘keys’ to exert some level of influence.”
