Russia “welcomes” U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, ratifies treaty to upgrade relations with Iran

The United States and Iran will begin nuclear negotiations in Oman this weekend, while Russia ratified a treaty that upgrades its relations with Iran and has expressed willingness to help Washington and Tehran in negotiations.

Lee Seung-jae reports.

The United States and Iran will sit down for nuclear talks in Oman on Saturday.

Tuesday's announcement comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Iran could be in great danger if the nuclear negotiations do not go well.

"He has said there will be direct talks with Iran on Saturday. You can strike a deal with the president, you can negotiate or there will be hell to pay. And as the president said yesterday, if they don't choose to move forward with diplomacy and a deal, which is the direction we do see them headed in, there will be grave consequences to pay."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a nuclear deal is possible as long as the U.S. is willing, while he dismissed the Libyan model, which would mean the full dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, mentioned by Israel.

Russia welcomed the news of the upcoming talks, and expressed its willingness to provide assistance.

According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday, Moscow supports resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through political and diplomatic means.

The remarks by the Kremlin also comes as Russia's lower-house, the State Duma, on Tuesday ratified a 20-year strategic partnership treaty with Iran, elevating their bilateral relations.

The treaty which was signed by the leaders of Russia and Iran in January, strengthens political, military and economic cooperation between the two countries.

One of the key provisions commits Moscow and Tehran to counter shared security threats, exchange intelligence and refrain from helping an aggressor if either country is attacked.

However, unlike the treaty Russia signed with North Korea in October 2024, Iran did not include a clause allowing the deployment of troops to support military operations.

Meanwhile, Russia also announced a separate expert-level talks with China and Iran on nuclear issues took place in Moscow on Tuesday.

Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.