'Stood up against superpower': Araghchi says Trump sought talks, as Putin reaffirms Iran support after meeting
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, and got another public assurance of full support from the old-time ally. Araghchi, one of the main negotiators at the Islamabad talks that are now stalled, also said Iran is “considering a request” from the US for negotiations.
“It is clear that Iran has stood up against the world’s greatest superpower, and they have not achieved even one of their goals. This is why they have requested negotiations, and we are currently considering it,” Araghchi told Russian media.
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He pointedly blamed Trump’s administration for the failure of the peace talks during a visit to Saint Petersburg, where Putin promised him Moscow’s support in bringing the war to a close.
Araghchi was in the city on the fourth leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour, having sandwiched a trip to Oman in between two visits to main mediator Pakistan over the past few days.
Status of Pak mediation
Islamabad hosted the first and only round of unsuccessful US-Iran talks, and Araghchi’s visit had fanned hopes for fresh negotiations over the weekend, until US President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Iran
“The US approaches caused the previous round of negotiations, despite progress, to fail to reach its goals because of the excessive demands,” Araghchi said Monday.
After nixing his emissaries’ trip, Trump told Fox News that if Iran wanted talks, “they can call us”, though he has said the cancellation does not signal a return to hostilities or an end to the truce for now.
Putin’s support
Following their meeting, Putin and Araghchi both voiced their commitment to the two countries’ “strategic relationship”.
Putin promised that Russia would “do everything that serves your interests… so that peace can be achieved”, state media reported.
Araghchi said the war with the US and Israel had shown the world “Iran’s true power” and the stability of its governing system.
Backchannel is open
In a sign that back-channel diplomatic efforts were ongoing, the Fars news agency said Iran had passed “written messages” to the Americans via Pakistan spelling out red lines, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.
US media outlet Axios — citing a US official and two other sources — reported on Sunday that Iran had sent a new proposal to end the war centred on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending a US naval blockade there, with nuclear negotiations postponed for now.
Iranian state news agency IRNA cited the report without denying it.
Trump, meanwhile, was expected to hold a meeting with his top national security advisers on Monday to discuss the stalled talks and how to proceed, Axios and ABC News reported.
Though the ceasefire has so far held, the war’s economic shock waves have continued to reverberate.
Gulf states are also suffering from the strait’s closure after absorbing weeks of Iranian drone and missile barrages that shut their skies and damaged their vital oil and gas infrastructure during the war.
A senior UAE official on Monday criticised Gulf neighbours over what he called their weak stance on Iran. Gulf monarchies have always had “difficult relations” with Tehran, presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said, but their longstanding policy of containment has “failed miserably, and we are now facing a major reassessment”.
Violence, meanwhile, has continued on the war’s Lebanese front, despite a recently extended ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.