Russia Slams Report That Says It Backs Deal for Zero Iranian Nuclear Enrichment

An Iranian source also denied that Russia told Iran it supports a nuclear deal that won't allow Tehran to enrich uranium

by | Jul 13, 2025

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday criticized a report from Axios that said Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian officials that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal that wouldn’t allow Iran to enrich uranium.

The Axios report also said that Putin expressed the same position in conversations with President Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the report “appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran’s nuclear program.”

“Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasised the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran’s nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions,” the statement added.

Putin hosts Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the Kremlin on June 25, 2025 (Kremlin photo)

A source speaking to Iran’s Tasnim news agency also denied the report, saying Tehran “has not received any message” from Russia regarding a potential deal that wouldn’t allow Iranian uranium enrichment.

President Trump has threatened he would bomb Iran again if it restarted its enrichment program, but it remains unclear how long it would take for Iran to resume uranium enrichment. The fate of Iran’s stockpile of 60% enriched uranium, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade, is also not known.

Israeli officials are claiming that Iran’s uranium stockpiles have been buried but are retrievable. Such claims could be used as a pretext for further attacks on Iran, as President Trump reportedly signaled to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would support more Israeli strikes if Iran restarts its nuclear program.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Trump’s support for further Israeli attacks, saying they could happen if Iran “resumed moving toward a nuclear weapon.” However, there was never any evidence that Tehran was working toward a nuclear weapon, something that was acknowledged by US intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Israel would likely use any Iranian steps toward restarting uranium enrichment as a justification to attack.

President Trump and his officials have claimed that negotiations with Iran will resume soon, but Iranian officials continue to insist that they need guarantees that the US or Israel won’t attack again during the diplomatic process.

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

Join the Discussion!

We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.

For more details, please see our Comment Policy.