TEHRAN -- Russian President Vladimir Putin says Israeli leaders have requested him to convey to Iran that they are not seeking further confrontation with Iran and wish to ease tensions.
Tensions between Iran and Israel soared after the occupation regime launched an unprovoked aggression on Iran on June 13, which triggered a 12-day war. The regime assassinated top commanders and nuclear scientists and also killed hundreds of civilians across the country. The United States also intervened, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a breach of international law.
The 12-day war came to a stop on June 24, after crushing retaliatory Iranian strikes targeting both Israeli and U.S. positions forced Israel to halt its aggression and enter a unilateral ceasefire.
Addressing the Central Asia-Russia summit in Dushanbe on Thursday, Putin said that Israeli authorities have asked him to deliver a message to Iran.
“We continue confidence-based contacts with Israel and receive signals from Israeli leadership asking that this be conveyed to our Iranian friends that Israel intends and is determined to further resolve the issue, and is not interested in any form of confrontation,” he said.
The Russian president reiterated that the only viable path to address concerns regarding Iran’s nuclear program was through diplomacy.
“Only through diplomacy and negotiations can the situation around Iran’s nuclear program be resolved. There is no reasonable alternative to it,” he said.
Putin said Russia maintains close contact with Iranian officials and noted Tehran’s willingness to seek mutually acceptable solutions and renew constructive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We recently hosted Director General of the IAEA Rafael Grossi and spoke in detail about the topic,” Putin added, noting that while technical questions remain, ongoing discussions are paving the way toward a final settlement.