The Kremlin on Tuesday made clear that it backs both direct and indirect talks between Iran and the US over Tehran's nuclear program, describing that this is the best chance of de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia supports diplomatic settlement to the crisis, after President Trump has said a military option is on the table if the Islamic Republic doesn't cooperate.
Peskov said, "We know that certain contacts, direct and indirect, are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed, because it may lead to a de-escalation of tensions around Iran."
Russia previously offered to facilitate these talks, and is seen as increasingly in Iran's corner, given the defense and strategic partnership which has been on display particularly since the Ukraine war started, resulting in large-scale Iranian drone transfers.
Trump in his Monday comments appeared to shock Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was sitting beside him during the claim that 'direct talks' with the Iranians were underway.
Netanyahu's face became the subject of social media users after #Trump said, "We are negotiating with #Iran." pic.twitter.com/gjopms2Mh4
— Behnam Hedayati (@hedaybehnam) April 8, 2025
"We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen," Trump had said.
"And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with, if they can avoid it."
The president continued, "So we’re going to see if we can avoid it. But it’s getting to be very dangerous territory. And hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran’s best interests if they are successful."
On Tuesday Moscow is separately hosting trilateral talks involving China on the Iran nuclear issue, reports TASS:
Trilateral talks between representatives of Iran, Russia, and China on the Iranian nuclear program will take place at the expert level in Moscow on April 8, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. The announcement came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected as meaningless US President Donald Trump’s proposal for direct negotiations on reviving the nuclear deal.
As for the newly announced upcoming Oman talks, the Iranians have emphasized they will be 'indirect'. Still, what's clear is that this marks progress and significant engagement. Axios reviews of the latest from Tehran:
- While Trump insisted the talks would be "direct," Araghchi claimed they would be" indirect." In diplomatic terms, that means mediators pass messages between the sides.
- Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ruled out direct talks with the U.S. so long as Trump kept his "maximum pressure" policy in place.
- "It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America's court," Araghchi said.
At the moment, a second US aircraft carrier is en route to the Red Sea region to support Yemen operations. The USS Carl Vinson is in the Indian Ocean, and Iran has been carefully monitoring its progress, with reports of Tehran leadership having put the Iranian armed forces on high alert.
Advanced American bombers are also conducting counter-Houthi operations out of Deigo Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and Tehran is worried about their proximity. Many analysts believe these Pentagon assets were moved there in case anything big happens with Iran.
Tehran has also been warning Gulf Arab states that they must not cooperate with any kind of US or Israeli military operation targeting the Islamic Republic. So far countries like Saudi Arabia have signaled they will stay out of any conflict, and will refuse their airspace for any preemptive attacks.
