Chapeau (Extrait) :
Russian President Vladimir Putin received Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the Kremlin on Thursday, November 5, the Kremlin said, on the same day a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran had sent Washington a nuclear proposal through Qatar.
A message from Iran’s supreme leader
Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov and Igor Kostyukov, head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, also took part in the meeting, according to the Kremlin, as reported by Anadolu and Reuters. The Kremlin did not disclose the precise purpose of the visit, which came three days after the two men spoke by telephone on November 2.
Iranian state media, cited by AP and Al Jazeera, said Rezaei handed Putin a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Its contents were not made public.
“Important regional issues were discussed with Mr Putin, and significant conversations took place regarding the post-war period and regional security arrangements,” Rezaei said after the talks, referring to the conflict between Iran and the United States. He added that the discussions also covered building a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran, meant to ease Iran’s gas shortages and allow Russia to sell gas to Iran’s neighbours.
According to Rezaei, Putin said Russia was ready to help bring the war to an end. Moscow and Tehran signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in January 2025, although it does not contain a mutual defence clause.
Seven conditions before any talks
Speaking in Moscow, Rezaei restated Tehran’s position on negotiations with Washington. “On the issue of diplomacy, we have announced seven conditions to the Americans. As long as they do not execute our seven conditions, we will neither open the Strait of Hormuz nor have negotiations,” he said, in remarks carried by AP, Reuters and Al Jazeera.
His comments followed a written statement on Wednesday by Khamenei, who said there should not be “even the slightest inclination towards submission” to the United States.
A proposal routed through Doha
Later on Thursday, a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Iran had sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only once Washington meets Tehran’s seven demands. The official said the US was reviewing the document but declined to give details. The report was also carried by Al Arabiya, Arab News and The National.
Iran’s publicly stated demands include the lifting of US sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and war reparations. Washington, for its part, has said nuclear issues must form part of any initial negotiations. Efforts to end the conflict have focused on the status of the Strait of Hormuz, the US blockade of Iranian ports, sanctions and a resumption of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Diplomacy after the US midterms
Mediation has intensified since the US midterm elections on Tuesday, in which President Donald Trump’s Republican Party lost control of Congress. Trump declined on election day to rule out a resumption of combat operations, according to Reuters. The war began on February 28, when the United States and Israel struck Iran, which responded with strikes on Israel and on Gulf states hosting US bases.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also held telephone calls on Thursday with several regional counterparts, including those of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, according to Iranian state media cited by Al Jazeera and The National. No date has been announced for any direct contact between Iranian and US negotiators.
