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Prime Minister's plan: Russia is ready to become an intermediary between Iran and the United States
Russia is ready to mediate and help in the negotiations between the United States and Iran at all levels, Izvestia found out. Earlier, Moscow had already offered its services as a mediator when the parties could not agree on a nuclear deal and switched to military strikes. Switzerland, which has established communication channels with both sides, also offered its assistance in the negotiations, its Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. Against this background, Donald Trump, on the contrary, announced the cancellation of all meetings with Iranian officials, calling on protesters to seize government offices in the country and promising them assistance.
Russia is ready to mediate in the conflict between Iran and the United States
Large-scale protests have been taking place in the Islamic Republic for almost three weeks, some calling them the largest in the last decade. Reuters, citing an Iranian official, reports more than 2,000 dead, with a large number of victims confirmed by the country's vice president Ahmad Mousavi. The US-based human rights organization HRANA reported that, according to its data, the death toll exceeded 2.5 thousand. The riots began due to a sharp drop in the national currency, but soon turned into political actions demanding the overthrow of the current government. The embassies of the United States and India called on their citizens to leave the republic.
Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken about his readiness to launch military strikes against Tehran, and the day before announced the cancellation of all diplomatic meetings with Iranian officials. He also called on the protesters to seize government offices and added: "Help is on the way." According to Reuters, citing European sources, US military intervention in Iran may occur in the next 24 hours.
While the White House has turned away from the path of diplomacy, Moscow is calling for de-escalation and has expressed its willingness to mediate between the United States and Iran. This was reported to Izvestia by Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.
— Russia has consistently advocated a diplomatic settlement of the situation around Iran and against interference in the country's internal affairs. Especially a forceful one. Naturally, we are ready to provide maximum assistance to the negotiations at all levels. We remain in touch with our parliamentary colleagues. Iran is a strategic partner of Russia," he stressed.
According to him, the events in Iran are taking place according to the patterns of the "color revolutions" and are clearly inspired from the outside.
"Western politicians actually confessed to this, calling on the protesters to continue the street riots," said the MP, who met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on December 14.
Answering questions from journalists on January 14, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also stressed that relations between Russia and Iran cannot be changed by any third party. In recent years, ties between Moscow and Tehran have been strengthening, regardless of who is at the helm — conservatives (the government of Raisi) or reformists (the government of Peseshkian), orientalist Leonid Tsukanov recalled in a conversation with Izvestia. Therefore, the Russian Federation is ready to help Iran, which finds itself in a difficult situation, through mediation.
— Moscow sees signs of the use of Orange Revolution technologies in the Iranian protests and is trying to use its resources to ensure that pressure on the Islamic Republic is eased. Mediation is one of the ways to defuse tension. Moreover, Moscow as an intermediary is generally satisfied with both the United States and Iran," the expert said.
Such a development cannot be ruled out, given that Vladimir Putin maintains good relations with both Donald Trump and Iran's spiritual leader Ali Khamenei. In April 2025, Sergey Lavrov also stressed that the Russian Federation is ready to play any mediating role in the negotiations between Iran and the United States on the Iranian nuclear program. Moscow offered its help to both sides after Washington attacked Tehran with missiles in June 2025.
Who else is ready to be a mediator
Switzerland has also expressed its determination to provide diplomatic assistance. The country has long defended the interests of the United States in Iran, Nicolas Bidault, head of the information service of the Swiss Foreign Ministry, reminded Izvestia. The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 after the seizure of U.S. Embassy staff in Tehran.
— Switzerland has a long tradition of providing good offices and remains ready to facilitate dialogue when it is useful and desirable for both sides. In this context, Switzerland is also fulfilling its mandate as a power protecting US interests in Iran, which provides an established communication channel," he said.
Finally, the countries of the Middle East, in particular, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, can offer their help in preventing escalation. Leonid Tsukanov is sure that despite the ambiguous attitude of the Iranian neighbors towards the policy of the republic's authorities, they are not interested in its internal destabilization.
— The fall of the Islamic Republic (one of the poles of power in the modern regional configuration) will open a Pandora's box, creating a new zone of instability between Afghanistan and Iraq. The lessons of the Libyan and Iraqi crises, as well as the Arab Spring, have shown that such turns are fraught with decades of instability and threats, the expert says.
For example, such risks are too great for Saudi Arabia, especially in the context of their plans to boost the economy and tourism. In addition, further aggravation of relations between Washington and Tehran is fraught with the outbreak of a full—fledged war in the region, which may eventually involve Israel, the main opponent of the current Iranian authorities. Earlier, the IDF announced its readiness to launch a retaliatory military strike if Tehran decides to attack Israel and American bases on its territory.
— Countries where the pro—Iranian "axis of resistance" is active, such as Yemen, Iraq, and Lebanon, will also fall into a potential zone of instability. Syria, which is already experiencing serious internal instability, will also be under potential attack, Tsukanov believes.
Recall that on the night of January 11, the United States attacked targets of the Islamic State terrorist organization (IS, banned in the Russian Federation) in Syria. Finally, Middle Eastern countries with large US military bases and troops will be at risk. There are similar facilities in about 19 locations in Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Syria. In June last year, Iran, in response to the US attack, hit American military installations in Qatar. It is possible that attacks on it may be repeated this time, and therefore Britain is evacuating its military from there, according to media reports.
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