Putin meets Iran’s top security official as Trump says Tehran wants deal
President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran is seeking a nuclear deal but declined to specify a timeline for negotiations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the Kremlin on Friday as Washington increases its military presence near Iran and escalates pressure on Tehran to reach a nuclear deal.
What happened: The Kremlin confirmed the meeting in a statement on Friday, saying that it occurred during Larijani’s visit to Moscow. That visit was not publicly announced in advance by either side, and Tehran has not yet commented.
Putin and Larijani last met in October, when Larijani went to Moscow for talks with the Russian leader. They discussed economic and regional cooperation and Larijani delivered a message from Khamenei to Putin.
Larijani was appointed to lead Iran’s Supreme National Security Council in August after the 12-day war with Israel in June, which saw US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
