Putin to meet with Iran's foreign minister over nuclear programme

Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later Thursday to discuss Tehran's nuclear programme, days after US and Iranian officials held talks in Oman.

Araghchi is on a visit to Moscow for talks that are also expected to address issues related to Syria, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

"He will meet him today," a Kremlin aide, Yuri Ushakov, told state media.

He is also due to meet his counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Friday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

The visit comes less than a week after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman, the highest-level meeting between the two sides since Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 during his first term as US president.

The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia was ready to do "everything" in its powers to help find a diplomatic resolution to the stand-off between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Moscow, which commands the world's largest confirmed arsenal of nuclear weapons, has deepened its military ties with Iran since launching its offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia has issued calls for calm after Trump last month appeared to threaten to bomb Iran if it did not engage in talks about restricting its nuclear programme.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump had recently blocked an Israeli plan to strike Iranian nuclear sites.