Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
According to the Kremlin, it is an offer to reduce “irritating factors”.
Tensions are rising in the Middle East, as Iran continues to crack down on anti-government protests and the U.S. is sending military ships, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, to the region.
Donald Trump has warned the Iranian leadership to stop killing protesters, as 3,117 people have been killed so far, according to official numbers.
The US-based opposition group HRANA estimated the death toll at 6,842, however.
But Iran’s nuclear programme is another factor increasing tensions.
Site being rebuilt
After U.S. strikes on the nuclear programme during the summer of 2025,
The Jerusalem Post reported yesterday that satellite images from one of the destroyed sites show it is being rebuilt.
Iran claims that the nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes, but there are fears that the uranium being enriched is actually being used to develop nuclear weapons.
And now, Russia is offering to ease tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Offering to take the uranium
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia has for years offered to process or store Iran’s enriched uranium on its own territory, according to Reuters and EFE.
He said Moscow is ready to help remove enriched uranium currently kept in Iran in order to reduce what he described as “irritating factors” linked to Tehran’s nuclear programme, adding that the matter “has been on the agenda for some time.”
Diplomatic positioning
Peskov said Russia is maintaining contacts with all parties involved and remains prepared, where possible, to encourage a lowering of tensions around Iran.
The comments place Moscow as a potential intermediary as nuclear diplomacy remains stalled following earlier negotiations between the United States and Iran.
Those talks were disrupted after the outbreak of a war launched by Israel against Iran, which later involved the United States, including strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the same reports.
Sources: Reuters, EFE, Agerpres, HRANA, The Jerusalem Post
