Iran Heads To Russia For Help on US War-Why?
Talks between Tehran's foreign minister and Vladimir Putin will take place amid faltering U.S. efforts over Iran War talks and the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's state media reported Abbas Araghchi had arrived in St Petersburg Monday, with no breakthrough in either the war or opening the critical waterway.
President Donald Trump has indefinitely extended the ceasefire that Washington and Tehran agreed to on April 7, which has largely stopped the fighting that started with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 although a permanent deal is not imminent.
Hamidreza Azizi, an Iran expert at the German think tank SWP Berlin, told Newsweek Monday that Araghchi's Russian visit is part of a broader Iranian effort to regionalize-and even internationalize-the framework for a potential resolution to the conflict.
"Tehran appears to be engaging multiple interlocutors, each capable of addressing a specific component of the broader dispute," he said.
Russia As Mediator On Nuclear Sticking Point
Araghchi's visit to Russia should be seen alongside his recent trips to Islamabad and Oman as the scope of mediators in the conflict widers, Azizi from SWP Berlin said.
"Russia's potential role is particularly relevant to the nuclear file-specifically the issue of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium."
Trump has insisted that Tehran will not enrich uranium and would work with U.S. to dig up what he calls "nuclear dust" as part of a deal between the countries.
"Contrary to suggestions by Donald Trump, Iran does not appear willing to transfer this material to the United States. However, there is precedent for alternative arrangements involving third countries such as Russia."
Azizi said a comparable mechanism existed under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in which enriched uranium was transferred to Russia and, in return, nuclear fuel was supplied to Iran for civilian purposes.
"Russia has repeatedly signaled its willingness to play a similar role again, making Araghchi's visit to Moscow particularly significant in the context of efforts to resolve one of the central sticking points in the negotiations," added Azizi.
Vuk Vuksanovic, Associate at the London School of Economics think tank, LSE IDEAS, said Russia is one of the rare actors on the international scene which is powerful enough and has a channel of communications with the US, Israel and Iran.
"Russia could also play a role in resolving the issue of the Iranian nuclear program, as it has done so in the past,” he told Newsweek, “the question is whether Russia is interested in playing that role."
"Russia benefits from the fact that the U.S. is stuck once again in the Middle East and that there is less attention and fewer resources dedicated to the Ukraine war," he said.
"Equally important is that even if Russians were to agree to help, they would ask for something in return from the Americans, such as concessions in Ukraine."
Russia-Iran Ties
Iranian media reported Monday that Tehran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali said Iran and Russia "stand on the same front in the face of campaigns by hegemonic forces against independent and justice-seeking nations."
Iran and Russia both oppose a U.S.-led global order and American sanctions and Moscow has been relying on technology from Iran's drones for its strikes against Ukraine.
Last year, Russia and Iran signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement in January, but it stopped short of any agreement on mutual defense.
Russia has condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, and while it has not directly helped Tehran through troops or air defense is aiding Tehran's war effort in other ways, according to western security sources and officials.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, who has offered defence drones and assistance to the Gulf states attacked by Iran in the war, highlighted “irrefutable evidence” Moscow was providing signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capabilities to the Iranian regime.
Last month, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, called the relationship between Russia and Iran as “two-way cooperation,” and Arragchi told NBC last month that "military cooperation between Iran and Russia is not something new."
Russia Can Give Iran Symbolic Backing, But Not A Stategic Rescue
It comes after anticipated negotiations in Islamabad involving U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner did not materialize on the weekend after Trump cancelled their visit, saying if Tehran wants to talk "all they have to do is call."
Aurélien Colson, academic co-director of the ESSEC Business School Institute for Geopolitics & Business told Newsweek Monday that this cancellation reinforces the impression of an improvised process.
"Neither Witkoff nor Kushner are specialists of nuclear issues, nor of Iran," Colson said. "That does add to an air of chaos- too many channels, not enough experienced negotiators, and not enough evidence yet of a disciplined negotiation architecture."
Tehran still wants Russian diplomatic cover and the symbolism of great-power backing but Russia is in no position to offer Iran a real strategic rescue, Colson said.
"It can posture, obstruct, and complicate Western diplomacy, yet it cannot provide the decisive military, economic, or diplomatic support that would fundamentally change Iran's situation.”
He noted how Russia could not save other allies, such as Bashar al-Assad in Syria, nor oppose Nicolas Maduro’s downfall in Venezuela.
"In Iran's case, too, it looks more like an overextended opportunist than a reliable protector," Colson said.
"Russia still has a role to play, but it is a secondary, and essentially a negative one."
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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 8:40 AM.