US President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin to move Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile to Russia as part of efforts to end the ongoing US-Israel war
with Tehran, according to an Axios report.
The offer was made during a phone call between the two leaders earlier this week, but Trump is said to have declined the suggestion.
The development comes as Trump acknowledged that Moscow could be providing limited assistance to Iran in its confrontation with the United States.
“I think he might be helping them a little bit, yeah, I guess, and he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?” Trump said during an interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on Friday. “Yeah, we’re helping them also.”
He added that such dynamics were common in global geopolitics.
“So he [Putin] says that, and China would say the same thing, you know. It’s like, hey, they do it, and we do it, in all fairness. They do it, and we do it,” Trump said.
Trump’s remarks appeared to contrast with earlier statements from his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. Witkoff had said Russia denied sharing intelligence with Iran following discussions with US officials.
Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly held a separate phone call with Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, earlier this week. According to Witkoff, Ushakov reiterated that Russia was not providing intelligence support to Tehran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also said that US officials had warned Russia about the issue.
“President Trump and Mr Witkoff told the Russians that if intelligence sharing was taking place, it’s not something they would be happy with, and they hope that it is not taking place,” Leavitt told reporters.
Meanwhile, reports suggest Russia could gain more than $10 billion in additional oil and gas revenues to support its war in Ukraine after Trump lifted restrictions on countries buying Russian crude that had been stranded at sea.
The geopolitical tensions have also rattled energy markets. Trump’s decision to close the key shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz has pushed global oil prices above $120 per barrel.
