Russia slams report Putin urged Iran to accept zero nuclear enrichment as ‘political defamation'
US news outlet Axios reported on Saturday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Putin had 'encouraged' Iran to accept a deal with the US that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.
The article 'appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran's nuclear programme', the Russian ministry of foreign affairs said on Sunday.
'Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasised the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear programme exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions,' the statement read.
Tehran is suspected by Western countries and Israel of seeking to develop an atomic bomb, which it denies, defending its 'non-negotiable' right to develop a civilian nuclear programme.
Moscow has a cordial relationship with Iran's clerical leadership and provides crucial backing for Tehran but did not swing forcefully behind its partner even after the US joined Israel's bombing campaign in June.
Publicly, Moscow has defended Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes but in recent months, Putin has also drawn closer to US President Donald Trump.
Khamenei.Ir/AFP
On 13 June, Israel launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, triggering a 12-day war.
The conflict halted negotiations initiated in April between Tehran and Washington to frame Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Iran.
On 22 June, the US bombed the underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, south of Tehran, and nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz.
The exact extent of the damage is not known.
Iran said its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency 'will take on a new form', expressing a desire for a diplomatic solution to resolve concerns over its nuclear programme.
Iran's 12-day war with Israel last month rattled its already shaky relationship with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Satellite image © 2025 Maxar Technologies
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Iran's cooperation with the IAEA 'has not stopped, but will take on a new form', after the Islamic republic formally ended cooperation with the UN watchdog in early July.
Iran has blamed the IAEA in part for the June attacks on its nuclear facilities, which Israel says it launched to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon - an ambition Tehran has repeatedly denied.
Araghchi said requests to monitor nuclear sites 'will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis... taking into account safety and security issues', and be managed by Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
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