Russia working to de-escalate Iran tensions as Washington demands limits on nuclear power, missiles

The Kremlin said Monday that Russia is working to de-escalate tensions regarding Iran, as President Trump demands Tehran make major concessions on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow is discussing Iran’s situation with several parties and hopes to reach a diplomatic solution.

“Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing its contacts with all interested parties and maintains its readiness to de-escalate tensions around Iran to the best of its ability,” Mr. Peskov said.

He added Russia is open to taking some of Iran’s enriched uranium if it would help to ease tensions between Iran and Western powers. The U.S. and others have sounded the alarm over Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, saying they eventually will be used to construct nuclear weapons.

Russia’s de-escalation bid follows Mr. Trump’s threat of military intervention over Iran’s crackdown that has left thousands of protesters dead amid several weeks of nationwide unrest.

Mr. Trump last month dispatched the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group to the region and demanded that Iran abandon its uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programs and stop propping up terror proxies.

The president recently said Iranian officials have indicated they are ready to come to the negotiating table. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran is considering “the various dimensions and aspects of the talks.”

Iranian officials have long rejected limits on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, insisting that both are essential to its sovereignty.

However, Iran may accept a deal in which Tehran transfers its highly enriched uranium to a partner country, like Russia, in exchange for sanctions relief. Rumors of a similar offer surfaced during the last round of negotiations, and Washington’s position on such a proposal remains unclear.

Iran has been hit with increased sanctions over the past year. In addition to sanctions from Washington under Mr. Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, the Islamic republic was slapped with U.N.-backed “snapback” sanctions in August after European powers decided that Iran had not done enough to find a diplomatic solution to its nuclear program.

After nuclear negotiations broke down in June, Iran has insisted it will not continue negotiations with the U.S. until it receives guarantees that Washington will not launch strikes on its military or nuclear infrastructure.

The U.S. launched airstrikes on three of Iran’s most heavily fortified enrichment sites in June, after Israel launched preemptive strikes on the country earlier that month.

The strikes severely damaged Iran’s enrichment capabilities, according to Iranian officials, who say that enrichment has essentially stopped since June.