Trump asks Putin for a favor

US President Donald Trump asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to act as a mediator in potential negotiations with Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program, Bloomberg reports citing sources.

"Trump relayed that interest directly to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February and top officials from his administration discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts at talks in Saudi Arabia days later, people familiar with the matter in Moscow said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue," the agency reports.

According to sources, the Russian leader agreed to the White House's proposal.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow was ready to do everything possible to help the US and Iran resolve their bilateral issues through negotiations.

Details

Iran has research sites two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include three known uranium enrichment plants. Commencing in the 1950s with support from the US under the Atoms for Peace program, Iran's nuclear program was geared toward peaceful scientific exploration. In 1970, Iran ratified the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), subjecting its nuclear activities to IAEA inspections. After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, cooperation ceased and Iran pursued its nuclear program clandestinely. An investigation by the IAEA was launched as declarations by the National Council of Resistance of Iran in 2002 revealed undeclared Iranian nuclear activities. In 2006, Iran's noncompliance with its NPT obligations moved the United Nations Security Council to demand Iran suspend its programs. In 2007, the US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) stated Iran halted an alleged active nuclear weapons program in 2003. In November 2011, the IAEA reported credible evidence that Iran had been conducting experiments aimed at designing a nuclear bomb, and that research may have continued on a smaller scale after that time. On 1 May 2018 the IAEA reiterated its 2015 report, saying it had found no credible evidence of nuclear weapons activity after 2009.