Trump, Putin discuss Iran’s nuclear program

Daily newspapers with covers, dedicated to the recent phone call of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, are laid out at a newsstand in a street in Moscow, Russia, February 13, 2025.
Daily newspapers with covers, dedicated to the recent phone call of Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, are laid out at a newsstand in a street in Moscow, Russia, February 13, 2025.

US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed Iran's nuclear program in a phone call between the two leaders on Wednesday.

“The issues of Middle East settlement, Iran's nuclear program, and bilateral economic relations between Russia and the United States were also brought up during the conversation,” said the Kremlin in a statement.

The conversation also touched on the Ukraine crisis and a prisoner exchange agreement between the Washington and Moscow.

Their call hinted at future in-person meetings, potentially in Saudi Arabia. Trump suggested the summit could address broader issues, including Iran and Ukraine.

It is a turnaround after Russia's envoy in Tehran had said a day earlier that Western countries are attempting to sideline Russia and China in discussions about Iran's nuclear program due to their close relations with Tehran.

“The Russian Federation has been in this format (P5+1) from the very beginning. And, naturally, we expect that the relevant negotiations will continue in this format, since we have information that, unfortunately, Western countries are trying to wean Russia and China from this process.”

Russia continues to play a pivotal role in Iran's nuclear infrastructure, leading initiatives such as the expansion of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

A key focus of the call was Ukraine. As reported by Reuters, following over an hour of conversation with Putin, Trump said that the Russian leader, who initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, expressed a desire to end the war.